#happy terror twin tuesday

[littlemissheavenonearth]

Happy Terror Twin Tuesday <33

also side note: can we have a Phil Collen Friday?

[elliotts-personal-property]

On this Terror Twin Tuesday I want to think about all the times Steve smiled so bright because of his other half💗

[lizard-on-a-window-pane]

Hi!!!!

I was wondering for Trope Tuesday if you could write a brothers best friend with James Potter (If possible could she be best friend with Lily and the girls but don’t worry if not)

Love you and your writing xxx

thanks so so much!! for requesting and for being so sweet 🥲 i hope you like it!!

for my 250 Followers Writing Event!

Tropey Tuesday 🎭 trope: brother's best friend

pairing: James Potter x reader 

tags: angst, fluff, Lupin!reader, fem!reader, sibling fluff

word count: 3k (not me with the first thing I write after saying I might keep things a bit shorter)

“Hey, little Lupin,” Sirius says, grinning, as he plops down beside you on the common room couch. “You know we’re twins, right?” you respond, not even looking up from your book. “Yeah… but you’re shorter.” He seems overly satisfied with his justification, and you can’t help but giggle at his antics. 

“So. What are you reading?” he asks. 

This confuses you; you didn’t think Sirius was much of a reader. You look up at him, your eyebrows furrowed suspiciously, “You care?” “No, not really.” You roll your eyes at him though you’re not actually upset. “So why are you here, then, Black?” 

“I come at the behest of my darling best mate.” “And what does my darling brother want now?” 

“No, not Moony, Prongs.” Your stomach tenses at this. This just went from slightly irksome to anxiety-inducing interesting. 

“Well, ‘behest’ isn’t the right word exactly. He doesn’t know about this. But I know him, and he’s never going to make a move himself, so I see it as my best-mate-duty to give a helping hand.” Your mind is racing. “Make a move”?? Is there really a possibility of your crush liking you back? Is that what Sirius is telling you? That James likes you too??

You’re probably blushing and definitely confused, so you sit there awkwardly, hoping he’ll go on without your having to say anything yet. To your relief, he does. “I have it on insider information that our dear James Potter has himself a crush.” Godric, you never thought this would actually happen. After years of pining, of getting to know him… of thinking he only saw you as Remus’s sister.

“You’re best friends with Lily, right?” Relief turns to terror. Oh no, oh no, oh no, please no. 

“Um… yeah?” “You don’t sound too sure, sweets,” he laughs. “Yeah, I am.” You know, but pretend - especially to yourself - that you don’t, “Why does that matter?” 

“I want to get her and Prongs together of course! He’s been off lately, and he won’t tell me why. He always tells me everything. So, I reckon it has to be about a girl. And I’ve caught him looking over at you lot constantly recently. I saw him and Evans chatting yesterday, and there was definitely something there.” 

You’re on the verge of tears at this point.

“You alright, Y/N? You look like you’re going to be sick.” Sirius sounds genuinely concerned, and you don’t know how to escape with a convincing excuse given there’s no way in hell you’re going to tell him the truth, especially now he’s said what he has. 

“Um, no, not really. Sorry, I, uh, I think something I ate wasn’t quite right,” you stutter lamely, clumsily collecting your things, and running up the stairs to your dorm. After the night’s cruelty, it provides you a bit of sympathy: the room is empty. You curl up on your bed, clutching your pillow, and let the tears fall.

Why did it have to be Lily?? I mean, why did it have to be anyone at all if it couldn’t be you, but your best friend? You know how brilliant she is, how could you not, and you know how brilliant he is, and well, maybe they would be a good fit. If they make each other happy, that should make you happy; you want the best for Lily, truly. 

No amount of trying to convince yourself makes the thought of them together sting any less, though, and you succumb to wallowing in your disappointment and sadness. 

You’re still crying when you here a knock at the door.

“Y/N?? You in there? Open up, please. Sirius said you were ill?” If it were anyone else, you’d pretend not be there. But it’s Remus. You’ve never hidden from each other your whole lives; besides, you need him now even if you can’t tell him why. You wipe your face as best you can as you go to the door and open it. His eyes look frantically worried, and your heart melts a little bit. You might not have the romantic love you want so desperately, but at least you have this. Not many people know what it’s like to be as loved as you are. You try to cling to that feeling as you cling to Remus, crying into his jumper, but at the moment, it’s not enough consolation to assuage your aching heart.

“What’s wrong, Y/N/N? Did something happen? You’re really worrying me,” he says stroking your back. You shake your head. “Hey, can you talk to me? Please?”

You recover yourself a bit and go sit on your bed. Remus follows. 

“It’s nothing,” you say pathetically, wiping your eyes. “Uh huh,” he replies, unconvinced. “Really, Rem. Thanks, but it’s not a big deal. I’ll sort it, really.” 

“Can’t you just tell me what it is?” “I’d rather not.” “That’s new.” He sounds genuinely surprised. “I don’t like it,” he chuckles. “We couldn’t tell each other everything forever, could we?” you smile sadly at him. 

“And why not?” You laugh together, and you feel a tiny bit better.

The thing is, you want to tell him. And you would if it weren’t his bloody best friend. You know that no matter what he said, it would make things weird for him. You keep your secret more for him than for yourself really. 

“If I tell you part of it, do you promise to let me leave it at that?” 

“That’s going to be hard.” “Reeemm,” you whine at him. “Alright, alright.” “Well, it’s… it’s about a boy.” He grimaces, and you can’t help but giggle at it. Immediately, “Who?”

“That’s the part you don’t get to know.” “Oh, come on, Y/N, that’s just not fair.” “Please, Remus. It’s just going to make things harder, and weirder, and I want a chance to just move on on my own. Trust me, yeah?” “Fine,” he answers begrudgingly. “But that still doesn’t explain why you’re so upset. If the lads and I have to plan a cruel prank on some undeserving wanker, then I have to know who it is.” 

You’re particularly amused at the idea of James being both pranker and prankee. 

“It’s nothing like that. He’s nice. That’s why I like him so much.” “Yuck.” You roll your eyes at this, and continue. 

“I just found out he likes someone else.” 

Remus’s expression is all understanding, perhaps too much so as the pitying look he gives you makes you feel worse instead of better. “It’s fine, really. That’s life; it happens; what can you do?” “Are we listing trite maxims then?” You roll your eyes again. “Just because 'that’s life' and 'it happens' and 'there’s not much you can do,'” he says with a mocky voice around your phrases, “doesn’t mean you won’t be upset. Or that that isn’t absolute shit.” He smiles sympathetically at you and wraps an arm around you. 

“Yeah,” you sniffle.

“Yeah,” he echoes. “Thanks, Rem. I kind of love you, you know?” You bump into him playfully. “I know. I’m great.” 

“Har har. Wanker.” 

“Hey!” he laughs. “It’s impressive, really, how quickly you can shift from adorable to an arsehole.” 

“Oh, whatever,” you push him off. 

He’s still chuckling when he asks you to come down to dinner with him. You take some convincing, but eventually, after your face looks a bit less cry-y, you walk down to the Great Hall. 

“Hello, lovely!” Lily calls from a few seats ahead. Remus gives you a little hug, squeezing a bit more than he normally would, and sits with his mates, between Sirius and James - annoying, gorgeous, stupid, magnetic James. You’re glad their backs are to you so they don’t notice you’ve been crying, and you hurry down to sit with Lily. 

She notices immediately. 

“What’s wrong, love? You alright?” She puts a consoling hand on your shoulder. “I’m fine, really. Just got a bit caught up in my feelings,” you say trying to end it there, laughing it off. 

“What feelings? You do know that as my best friend, you are contractually obligated to tell me all of these ‘feelings’?” She says “feelings” funny, and you’re glad to be sitting here laughing with her. Until you remember the cause of said feelings. 

“We can talk later,” you lie. You’ll figure out what to say later; you’re too exhausted now. “I just want to comfort eat now, if you don’t mind.” She still seems a bit worried but gives your shoulder a loving squeeze as she says, “‘Course,” and smiles sweetly. 

You’re finishing your dinner when you feel a tap on your shoulder. Your stomach sinks as you turn. There’s Remus… and Sirius… and the source of the tapping: James. 

“Hey, Lupin,” James says. “Evans,” he adds, nodding at Lily, and your stomach churns.

“Hi,” she says. You don’t say anything. You’re too busy picking at your fingernails, gaze down, trying to keep it together. You go to turn back around toward the table, but James’s hand on your shoulder stops you. “Hey, what’s up with you?” he asks jokingly, though it seems more than tinged in concern. 

“Nothing,” and a weak smile. “Are you feeling better?”

You feel your cheeks catch on fire. Remus wouldn’t tell his friends what you told him, right? You hadn’t told him not to, but you thought that was a given. “Yeah, little Lupin, you had me real worried there,” Sirius chimes in. Oh, right. Thank Godric. “Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry for the scare.” You think that’s that, and go to turn again, but again, James gently stops you. 

“That’s good,” he says softly. You have to fight to not roll your eyes - why does he have to be so kind? and thoughtful… and caring… and pretty when he’s worried…

“Are you girls done? Want to walk back up together?” he asks. 

“Sure!” Lily answers enthusiastically before you have a chance to lie and say you aren’t finished. For a moment, it crosses your mind that maybe she does because she likes him too, and your misery returns in full force. 

You say nothing on the walk back up to the tower, and you want to go straight to your room when you get there, but Lily links arms with you and drags you to the sofa before you manage it. She’s sitting on the edge, leaning over chatting to Mary and Marlene on the next sofa, you in the middle, sulking. Remus is reading on the single chair, occasionally glancing up at you, the constant, loving worrier he is. Sirius and James are playing exploding snap just in front of you. You notice Remus’s glances, but you don’t notice James’s. 

As the game ends, Sirius claiming loudly he got cheated, James just laughs, shoves him, and comes to sit next to you. 

“What do you think, Lupin? Best exploding snap player you’ve ever seen, eh?” he jokes, his eyebrow rising. Ugh, he’s funny, too. 

“You could go pro if you wanted,” you play along, exaggeratedly impressed. 

“Oh, I’ve considered it, yeah. You know, if quidditch doesn’t work out.” “You have a better chance at exploding snap,” you tease. “Ouch!” he laughs. “You say nothing all night, and when you do, I get this cruel treatment?” 

You’re surprised he noticed and don’t know what to say. “Seriously, though,” he’s speaking much more softly now. “You okay?” He pauses, biting his bottom lip as if considering something, before continuing, “You seem sad. I know you told Sirius you were sick, but I don’t think that’s true.” 

You panic at the tenderness, at his observant attentiveness, and opt for comedic relief. “You calling me a liar, Potter?” 

He chuckles, rolling his eyes at you, but keeps on. “No, of course not. I’m just saying that, well, you can talk to me. If you ever need to… or just want to, I guess… I mean, just because I’m your brother’s best mate doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right?” 

Friends. Ouch. You want to cry all over again, the proximity and kindness conflicting too much with the idea that he just wants to be friends, or worse, be friendlier with you just to spend more time with Lily too. 

“We are friends,” you reply. “Yeah? Great,” he smiles. Your heart aches.

“Yeah,” you whisper.

“So you’re okay?” he whispers too. “I’m okay,” you lie. 

“C’mon, Prongs! I need my rematch!” Sirius pulls him off the couch, demanding another game. 

The next few days go by gloomily but normally, and before you know it, it’s the weekend. And not just any weekend, a Hogsmeade one. You, your brother, and all your friends are strolling down the lovely, snow-covered lanes. Usually, you’d be especially happy now. You loved Hogsmeade, especially in the cold snowy months, but you still hadn’t been completely yourself since your emotional let down. 

You’re walking next to Remus, James animatedly talking to him on his other side. You feel invisible. Despite James’s kind words the other night, you can’t help but feel like your brother might as well be an invisibility cloak when you stand next to him. It’s like James just sees Remus; his sister is an afterthought.

You love Hogsmeade trips with your friends, but in your current emotional state, you’d rather be alone, so you subtly break off from the group and go into the nearest shop. It’s filled with magical toys and trinkets, and looking around helps cheer you up a bit. You’re browsing when you see a quidditch-themed exploding snap deck. You roll your eyes at the sky, giving the universe snark for not giving you a moment of peace of mind. Then you grab the deck and head over to the counter.

You’re walking slowly down the street, peering through shop windows, enjoying the cool breeze, when you hear your name called out. You turn to see James jogging toward you. “Where’d you go?” he asks friendly, falling into step with you, his shoulder bumping yours.

“Oh, just wandered off.” “Yeah, I noticed,” he laughs. “I didn’t realize my story was so boring.” 

“Oh, I, no, it wasn’t, I was just, you know,” you mutter, mortified. “I’m kidding, Lupin, relax,” he smiles. 

You smile back though you’re sure you’re blushing. You can blame the cold. 

“That freaks me out a bit,” he says. “What does?” “You and Remus have the exact same smile.” You’ve heard this before. “So it freaks me out that I think yours is so beautiful.” You’ve not heard this before.

You laugh lamely and offer up a weak but heartfelt “thanks.” He just nods. 

Your hands are cold, so you bury them in your pockets, and you’re met with your recent purchase. “Oh,” you start. “I have something for you.” 

“You do?” he sounds unreasonably surprised. “Yeah, just a little thing. Don’t get too excited,” you deflate. You pull the deck out and hand it to him. “This way you still get to think about quidditch while practicing for a more promising career path,” you joke. He doesn’t laugh, though. He looks awed. You don’t know what else to say and are starting to worry you did something awkward. 

He’s looking at the deck in his hand rather than at you when he says, “I really like you.”

You pause. You try to read his expression but struggle with his gaze down like this. “I really like you too,” you respond lightly. He looks up. Standing still, looking at you, he asks, “As your brother’s best friend? Like another brother?” he looks hurt at the word “brother.”

“No.” Honest, without revealing too much. “No?” He steps closer to you. “So if I were to tell you that I really want to kiss you right now…” His empty hand comes up to your cheek, caressing you softly. You smile brighter than you have in several days, much longer probably. He beams back at you in response and closes the gap between you. 

You pull back, and his eyes widen, but when you complain, “You lot already went to the Three Broomsticks? Don’t deny it - you taste like butter beer! We always do that last - I can’t believe you didn’t wait for me!” he laughs a deep laugh, wraps his arm around you, and pulls you close, kissing you harder this time. 

“I’ll buy you two to make up for it,” he says between kisses. He deepens the kiss, gently pushing his tongue against yours. You like the taste of butter beer; you love the taste of James Potter. 

“Bloody hell!” you hear from nearby. Sirius looks like his face can’t make up its mind between surprise, excitement, and confusion. “It was Lupin?! I thought it was Evans!” “You thought what was Evans?” James asks, looking perplexed, his arms still around you. “I thought you fancied Evans!” 

“Why?” The complete confusion and utter sincerity lift a huge weight from you, and you giggle. 

“Dunno, actually. Because I’m a bit of an idiot sometimes, it seems,” Sirius shrugs, seemingly already moving on from the situation. Which is more than could be said of Remus, who is standing stiff with his face blank staring at you. 

“It was James?” he asks, looking slightly disgusted. 

“You didn’t think it was Evans, too, did you?” You joke. 

Lily chimes in from beside Remus, “We would make a really good couple, Y/N.”

“Oi, Evans!” James scolds. “I’m not going to say you wouldn’t because you obviously would, but I’m trying my chances here, thank you very much.” Everyone but Remus bursts into laughter. 

“You might want to look away, Rem,” you say. “I don’t want to upset you, but I’m about to kiss your best friend again.” 

Remus groans and walks away, but you’re already too busy to notice.

[rickallensbarefeet]

Happy Terror Twin Tuesday <3

[rainiishowers]

Obey Me Incorrect Quotes Part 2

A/N: Seen people liking my first one again so I thought why not make another! All of these are from the various incorrect quote generators I have saved ------------ Lucifer:  I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you! Belphegor:  And I’m trying to avoid it --- Asmodeus:  Where are your shoes?! MC: The mud puddle demanded a sacrifice. --- Lucifer:  Ugh, what happened to me last night? Solomon:  The posion berries made you think you had special powers and could talk to frogs. Lucifer Thank Diavolo I don't remember any of that.. Diavolo: Good thing we got it all on camera! --- Lucifer:  WHOEVER CAUSED THIS MESS IS GOING TO- MC:  It was me… Lucifer: …Is going to be forgiven because everyone deserves a second chance. Satan: I SMELL FAVOURTISM! --- Barbatos, looking at the camera: Ever since Young Master learned about twitter lingo from MC and Asmodeus, he has been using it nonstop Diavolo:  Oop, sis been called out! The tea is scorching! Lucifer, almost in tears:  Please, make him stop. --- MC:  I wish I was a caterpillar Leviathan: Ok yes, but explain MC: Eat a lot, sleep for a while, then wake up beautiful Satan: You know they only have a lifespan of like,, two weeks right? MC: That's just another perk Everyone else: nO- --- Luke: You can't just drink tea, take a nap, and expect your problems to disappear! Mammon, climbing into bed: haha what?? Can't hear you over all this self care MC: Seriously Mammon, Luke's right, although I am glad you’re taking care of yourself- Mammon:  *puts sleep mask on* --- Solomon: Skeletons aren't scary!! Solomon: We're filled with this pulsing oozing, meat and y'all think the skeletons are scary? Solomon: THE MEAT IS SCARY!! THE M E A T! MC: So how much sleep has Sol gotten? Simeon: He haven't slept since Tuesday --- MC’s friend: How long are you going to stand here and let him do that? MC: Give him a minute. Mammon: *pushing a door that obviously says 'pull'* --- Asmodeus: Go tell MC they're cute! What's the worst that could happen? Leviathan: They could hear me. --- Satan: Country gnomes Belphegor: Take my bones Beelzebub: To a place, they don't belonggg? Lucifer: That's it, you guys lost campfire song privileges --- Satan: I poisoned someone's drink but I forget which one. Lucifer: yoU DID WHAT??!! Belphegor: With the way this dinner has been going, I hope it's mine. Mammon: *chugs the rest of his drink* --- Asmodeus: I never tell people off the bat that I'm gay. I wait. I wait until they say some homophobic shit and then I laugh and am like "you know I'm gay right?" and watch the look of terror on their face. Solomon: Solomon: I like you. --- Simeon: Truth or dare? Barbatos: ..Truth? Diavolo: How many hours have you slept this week? Barbatos: Barbatos: Dare. Simeon: Go to bed. Barbatos: I don’t like this game. --- MC: Though I admit I don’t know much about you, I am feeling pretty confident in my assessment that you are probably some sort of sick deadly fuck. Belphegor: ..Who told you? --- Belphegor: You are the best twin I could ever ask for and I would do anything within reason to make you happy. Beelzebub: I would be happy if you ate, stayed hydrated and took care of yourself Belphegor: I said within reason, Beel. How about I murder that guy? Beelzebub: So murder is in reason but proper self care isn't? Belphegor: Well, duh. What kind of question is that?

[littlemissheavenonearth]

[elliotts-personal-property]

Happy Terror Twin Tuesday <3

[imnotwolverine]

The Accidental Family - Chapter 3

Henry Cavill x OFC multi-chapter

< Chap 2 | Chap 3 Is there a handbook to this? | Chap 4 >

Disclaimer: Fluff, some strong language

Word count: 2.080

Author’s note: I had a super fun online dinner with my in-laws yesterday. Me and my boyfriend cooked all the courses and had them sent out to everyone - we had a blast! I hope all of you dear readers are doing okay; I’m sending all my love to you! And..of course another chapter of this little series ❤️

(Link to my Masterlist)

--

‘Have fun tonight. And if it’s too much; take a break.’ The nurse shot Henry a warning glare before she stepped out of the door, Henry’s warm smile showing just how eager he was to send her out so he and Bee could get the house ready for the arrival of the kids.

THE KIDS. HOLY… The thought alone made his stomach jump in excitement and terror.

Clicking the door closed, he was met with the mildly worried gaze of Phoebe, her arms folded over her long sleeve shirt, long blond hair braided away from her face.

‘What?’ Henry gulped, thinking he had done something wrong.

But Phoebe just grinned, her lips curling in a smile. ‘I never thought I’d see a man this excited to learn he was the father of four kids..but here we are.’

‘Well, can’t back up now, can I?’

Phoebe let out a chuckle. ‘You bet your ass you can’t, Mr Cavill!’ But as the words escaped her lips, that all familiar agony moved over her face. ‘I mean. It’s okay, if it’s..not what you want. I mean, you can’t remember and..it’s a lot..and..’

‘Bee.’ Henry sighed. She was right to think this was a lot to take in. And he was looking at a long recovery time. Many patients changed after such a traumatic event. And even though he thought he had always wanted this, a family, it was like being hit by a train at full speed, the way he was thrown in a life he didn’t know how to live. He cleared his throat and stepped in closer, his tongue flicking over his bottom lip. ‘So, what do we do now?’

Phoebe sighed. ‘Well, they’re just here for a visit. But I thought we could make some tea and biscuits and..’

‘I’ll make the tea.’ Henry smiled.

‘Sure?’

‘That I am. Though I’m so sure on how I am to handle four kids.’

Phoebe stepped in and clasped a hand around his shoulder, squeezing it gently. ‘Two hours, that’s it. And if it’s too much, you just head upstairs and we’ll say you needed to sleep early - they’re familiar with that.’

Henry looked down at her hand on his shoulder, her fingers quickly letting go, thinking he disliked it. He took another deep breath and slowly nodded. ‘Any other..things?’

Phoebe shrugged and laughed. ‘Well. I don’t even know where to start.’

--

Henry was glad he was about 4 times the size of these four little monkeys, because by the time their shoes were removed and Kal was decorated with their scarves, Henry was next in line to be welcomed by their grabby hands which clung to him like they were a pack of little Koala bears.

Henry thought he had plenty of experience with his little nephews and nieces. But this sure was different. Tumbles of dark brown curls cascaded over mischievous pairs of blue eyes, the youngest one somehow the fastest of them all as he crawled around the living room as if possessed, little knees thudding on the floorboards.

‘DADDDYYYY.’ They all screamed, tugging at his clothes and starting different stories all at the same time, their eager hands begging for his attention as their eyes lit up with excitement.

There was the eldest, Sam, a shy 4 year old boy. There were the twins. A boy and girl, Max and Piper - a rowdy bunch, now 3 years old. And the youngest, 1 year old Cole, named after his granddaddy, the same granddaddy having opted for settling down in the reading chair in the corner as he waited for the storm to pass.

‘H-hi.’ Henry breathed, looking down at the bouncing heads of his kids, his hands awkwardly brushing over their curls.

‘Daddy! Daddy! Did you see my draw-things?! I made like,’ The little girl widened her arms. ‘THIS many.’

‘OH, did you now? That’s a lot.’

‘Yea, and granny helped! And we baked cookies and..’ - ‘Daddy, I need to go peepee!!!’

And then the youngest started to cry as he failed to get the attention he wanted, his bone wrenching, shrilly cries reverberating through the suddenly much too small living room. Henry looked in panic at Phoebe and his mom, who were looking at the situation in mild shock; maybe it had been a little too rash to introduce him to ALL the kids at once. But here they were. Clinging to him like it was just another Tuesday. Four monkey babies, excited to see their dad after what seemed like a lifetime in their short little lives.  

It took another fifteen minutes to somewhat calm the children, Henry having settled on a dining room chair as he watched the four pairs of blue eyes that stared back at him. The youngest had settled on Phoebe’s lap, his head rested on her slow breathing chest, and the twins had settled on the carpet, twiddling with the long strings of the rug as they nagged yet again that they were bored.

‘But I want my toys mommm.’ Piper nagged.

Next up was the youngest, who started to cry again, making Phoebe sigh in exasperation as she bounced him on her lap, before she decided it best to take a little walk, her slim legs walking out into the hallway, leaving Henry with the other three kids and his parents.

‘Are you my daddy?’ Sam frowned, sitting on the couch next to his grandma, large blue eyes studying the strangely familiar being that was Henry. Henry gulped at the boy’s question, his lack of knowledge of these children making the situation ever the more painful.

‘I eh..’ He frowned as he heard even louder crying coming from the kitchen, Phoebe trying her best to shush the crying babe. ‘I am.’

‘So why don’t you play with us?!’ Max exclaimed, falling down on his little back, hands stretching out to poke at his sister who growled like an annoyed little tiger cub.

‘MAAXXXX. Granny he’s doing it - OUCH - GRANNYYY.’

‘You two! Calm it, or you’ll go in time-out.’

‘But daddy is being weirdddd.’ Max protested, jutting out his lip.

‘But I’m still your daddy.’ Henry said, slowly crawling from his seat to settle down on the rug as well, his eyes searching the gaze of the twins, whose eyes immediately lit up - playtime? PLAYTIME!

‘So you’re going to play with us?’

‘HORSEYYYYY.’ Piper cheered, crawling out to Henry to tug on his sweater to climb up to his back. Henry, however, was quick to stop her, before she’d accidentally tug his hair and agitate his head wound.

‘DADDyyyy.’ She cried, fighting him as he settled her back on her bum. ‘But I wanna..’

‘Piper, hey, hey. Look at me.’ Henry’s voice got ever softer, the louder she cried, until finally her blue eyes opened again and she looked at him with a big, overexaggerated pout. ‘Daddy needs a little time. He, eh, was broken, and now needs to be fixed.’

‘I can fix you!’ Sam climbed off the couch and started to search for the toy box, immediately earning the attention of the twins who quickly rushed over to get a look in the treasure box.

‘YAAAYYYYYY.’

‘We’re gonna fix DADDY!!!!’  

The three of them all picked pieces of toys, their fast little feet managing to escape Colin, Henry’s father, as the old man tried to grab for their little hands. ‘OI, young lady! Do not, I repeat; do not..-’

His pleas fell on deaf ears as the three children all went for the kill, Henry barely managing to sit up on his haunches in time to defend himself from the vicious attack of three hyperactive children.

‘OUCH.’ He gasped, feeling the familiar hurt of a piece of Lego in his skin, his mind having a difficult time to process how again he used to deal with his nephews and nieces in situations like these - then again, he had been sharp and witty then, and now he struggled with remembering the fact he has a wife now.

And kids. Don’t forget about the kids.

‘Ohhhhhkay!’ Marianne chimed with a fierce and loud voice, her hands clapping together with a sternness that made all three kids look up. ‘I think that’s enough fixing for today. How about we go have a drink and some biscuits, hmm?’

‘BISCUITSSSSSS!!!’ Piper cheered again - it was clear that the little girl was a bubbly bee. Bee. Oh damn, Henry thought, crawling up to a standing position before he followed the children that were running out into the hallway to get to the kitchen, his parents hot on his heels.

‘You can take a rest if you want.’ His mother whispered, laying a soothing hand on Henry’s shoulder before he stepped into the kitchen. His blue eyes met with the wisdom that lingered in his mom’s smile.  

‘Sorry about that, mom.’ Henry sighed quietly.

‘No, no. Our fault, remember? Besides, it takes some time before you know how to deal with this hot bunch.’ She chuckled as she looked over Henry’s broad shoulder, the children jumping up and down around the kitchen island as Phoebe made an attempt to cool them down while she also bounced Cole up on her arm.

‘Don’t worry son.’ Colin squeezed Henry’s shoulder as Marianne also slipped into the kitchen. ‘No matter what happens, we’re here for you, mkay?’ The old man winked at Henry, who slowly shook his head.

‘Man, I wish they had a manual for this kinda stuff.’

Colin laughed. ‘If only, if only.’

The two men remained in the doorway as the women managed to calm down the children, the lot of them all being placed around the kitchen table before they were treated to freshly baked biscuits and a lot of mommy love.

It didn’t take long before the two hours were up and the kids were packed up back in Marianne and Colin’s car, Henry and Phoebe waving them goodbye with heavy hearts, but happy smiles. Small clouds of nightly cold drafted from their mouths as they turned back towards the door, a certain melancholy left in the house that was now silent again.

‘Don’t you want to..go with them?’ Henry asked quietly.

Phoebe looked up at him, the two of them now crowding the door mat as she pulled the door closed. ‘I miss a lot of things, but I need to be here with you now.’ A slightly sad smile moved up her lips.

‘You sure?’

‘Yea. For better and worse, remember?’ She laughed, only to feel that her choice words were awful, her breath hiccuping as she quickly evaded his gaze. ‘Sorry. That wasn’t nice of me.’

Henry sighed. ‘Please don’t feel bad. You’re the best mom I know..or..can remember.’ He smirked a little, but Phoebe didn’t seem to be so easily consolable. ‘Bee, hey.’ Henry used his thumb to tilt her head up, their eyes meeting. ‘I don’t know if this is crazy of me to ask, but, eh…’ He cleared his throat, feeling his heart falter at the concerned stare of her penetrating blue eyes. Had he failed her? Fuck. He licked his lips, unsure of whether to proceed.

‘What?’ She finally breathed, her voice a little croaky.

‘Oh, it’s stupid silly I guess.’ Henry moved his hand to his head to scratch, only to be caught by her hand, her eyes giving him a half-amused smile.

‘I told you to stop doing that.’

‘That you did,’ Henry hesitated again, before simply blurting out: ‘would you like to go on a date with me?’

A short silence fell as Phoebe’s eyes widened in something so unreadable that Henry wasn’t sure whether she was about to scold him or break out in laughter. And how glad he was it was the latter, her lips pulling up into a most amused little chuckle. ‘What now?’

‘A..date? Wait, has that word changed in the..?’

‘No, no. Dating is a thing. And..’ She now burst out into a full fit of giggles.

‘What?’

‘Well, we never really dated. We just..’ Her eyes widened.

‘What, Bee? Don’t leave me hanging here.’

‘No, no. I mean YES! I want to go on a date with you, though, eh, no, let’s talk about this later. It’s been a long day and..’ Her words died as she sniffled again, her hand now moving up to brush carefully through his chocolate brown curls. ‘I’d love to go on a date with you.’

--

Chap 4 >

--

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@ceilingfann @do-youseeme​

[fluffyunicornofdanger]

Double Trouble Part Two

A/N: I have been MIA for so long! I’m sorry guys, really. I haven’t had the motivation for a couple months to really write. The horrible thing about it is that I have ideas for stories but I can never seem to get any words down or put my computer in front of me. I feel like that’s changed and I hope to god it has. Now, I think this is gonna have at least five or six parts cause I feel like it should be dragged out just a little, so yeah. 

*~~*~~*

Masterlist

Nikki Sixx x Reader/ Tommy Lee x Reader

Part 1

Summary:  Vince and Y/n have always been the best of friends whether they’ve had time to hang out or not. But their friendship gets tested when he introduces her to his bandmates under the strict rule that nothing goes on between her or them. That ruler gets pushed to the breaking point when the Terror Twins take an interest in Y/n. Now, not only is Y/n and Vince’s friendship on the line, but Tommy and Nikki’s as well.

Word Count:

Warnings: None? Idk, I’m just sorry it’s short

The world was spinning as Y/n walked into her kitchen the morning after the party. She had left as soon as she could, but that didn’t stop her from drinking once she got home. All the liquid courage was need for her to be able to process what she had gotten into last night. Correction - what other people had gotten her into. 

Vince would no doubt have a fit over Nikki and Tommy’s behavior, but that didn’t matter. Y/n had to find a way to sort things out before all hell broke loose.

Could she go on a date with both Nikki and Tommy? Sure, there was no harm in it. Could more dates come out of it? Yes. Did she want that? No, not if she valued her friendship with Vince. 

The only clear solution that Y/n could see was that she had to let the boys down gently. It was only fair to them that they got a chance, but nothing more. Neither Nikki nor Tommy were the type of men she wanted in her life in a romantic way. They were wild and crazy, the type that doesn’t make it to see their 40th birthday. She didn’t want that.

Vince never told her about the band’s drug and alcohol problems, he didn’t need to. The whole world was aware that the band was as dirty as the devil. That filth was not something Y/n wanted to see herself covered in… not again.

Right out of high school, she had gotten with a man, Ritchie. He had a summer soft smile and eyes like a sunset on the ocean. He was her daydream just as much as her nightmare. Ritchie made her feel safe and loved, showing her just how much he cared through pills and other drugs. “Take these, babe, they’ll make you feel like a queen,” he’d say and she would. She would take whatever he gave her like he was some doctor. Ritchie was nothing but a piece of shit and one day that piece of shit walked away, never to return. But that didn’t mean that everything he’d done walked away with him. For years, Y/n suffered from addiction because of the man that had once claimed to love her. Only after reuniting with Vince did she see the problem with Ritchie’s behavior and the mess that he’d left her in.

So, never again.

Never again would Y/n put herself in that position. Not that she thought Nikki or Tommy would treat her how Ritchie had. Her ex only wanted to feel power. Still, being that close to what had once ruined her life, it was a thrill, but not a risk she wanted to take. 

She turned the coffee pot on, hoping a hot cup of energy would get help her feel more alive. Walking past the small radio by the sink, she turned it on, letting “Don’t Look Back” by Boston blairing through the speakers. 

Y/n danced around her small kitchen, not giving a thought to the complaints her neighbors were likely to make later. It wasn’t like it sounded like they’d snuck in an elephant from the zoo. 

“Far away and left behind, left behind,” she sang at the top of her lungs. “Oh the sun is shinin’ and I’m on my road. Don’t look back-” She glared as the phone rang, interrupting her. 

Something always had a way of putting a stop to her mini-concerts. 

Striding over to the phone, she picked it up. “Can I help you?”

A light chuckle came through the line. “That’s one way to answer the phone.”

“Nikki?”

“Who’d you think it was, doll? The milkman?”

Y/n rolled her eyes. “Sorry, I was a little busy.”

“Is that “Don’t Look Back” playing?” He asked.

She nodded, before realizing he couldn’t see her. “Yeah, yeah it is.”

He hummed, “So about this restaurant, I got us a reservation for Tuesday at 8. I would have called and asked you what time you wanted but we should be lucky to even get reservations.”

“Listen, Nikki, I don’t think this is a good idea. I mean, it would be nice to get to know you and all, but I don’t think Vince would be very happy about it.”

“Don’t worry-”

About Vince?” Y/n asked. “How could I not worry about him? I’ve been friends with him forever. I can’t not worry about him.”

There was silence before Nikki spoke up. “Alright, then how about you just go out to dinner with me this once. See how you feel and if you don’t wanna go on another date then there’s no second date. How does that sound?”

Y/n nodded as the coffee finished brewing. “Alright, that sounds like a plan. But not a word to Vince about any of this.”

“Oh, trust me, he’d kill me if he found out.”

“See you Tuesday,” Y/n said before hanging up the phone.

One problem solved. One problem almost out of the way. All she had to do was survive until Tuesday and make it through the date. Then she would be home free… but not quiet.

What about Tommy?

The answer she gave to him was a thin-lined maybe. The answer could be interpreted anyway he desired, which didn’t help her one bit.

Tommy seemed like a nice guy and Y/n wanted to give him a chance, but how could she? It wouldn’t be fair to him for her to go out with both him and Nikki. But it also wouldn’t be fair to only give Nikki a chance. 

Pouring her coffee, Y/n rested against the counter, weighing her options. 

“Maybe I should tell Vince?” she said to herself. Taking a sip of the bitter brew, she nodded. “That way he can’t be hurt by it if I’m honest upfront and he can help me navigate the situation.” 

Yes, that is what she was to do. Well… what she was going to stress over until she saw her friend again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(Let me know if you want to be added to the permanent taglist or tagged on the next part (Also, sorry this took so long to post cause I’ve been working on it for like ever))

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[extreme-technicality]

Parental KiriBaku hcs incoming

For a while he says he doesn’t want kids. Completely shuts Eijirou down when he brings it up, rolls his eyes and checks out when other people bring up kids around him, and all he’ll ever say when asked directly is “I don’t want fuckin kids”

But one night. One night is a rough night, because there are kids involved. A villain attacks a museum and there’s a group of middle school kids there on a field trip. Not all of them make it out ok. Katsuki and Eijirou are two of the first heroes on the scene.

Ei sees how Katsuki is with them, sees how he calms them and cares for them, and he remembers all the times Katsu ever said “I don’t want kids” “fuck kids”

They get home and Ei finally asks him why

And it’s because he’s scared. He’s scared to death that he’s gonna be a bad dad, that he’ll fuck up the same way Mitsuki fucked up with him, because he’s too loud and too angry still, even after years of therapy. That’s not to say Mitsuki is a bad mom, she just wasn’t ready to be a mom when she had Katsuki and formed some really bad habits. Habits that translated over to Katsuki, and he’s overwhelmed by the feeling that he’s never gonna be ready to have a kid

When he’s done spilling his heart on the floor, Ei pulls him into a hug and tells him it’s gonna be ok. That not wanting to make the mistakes your parents did is a good reason to not want kids. That he’ll wait until Katsuki is ready to talk about kids before bringing it up again, and if he never does then they’ll just have to be the best damn uncles to Mina and Tetsu’s kids, and Mido and Ochako’s kids.

And the night passes. And another night. Then a week. A month. A year. Two. Five. They don’t bring up the subject, and they regularly babysit their nieces and nephews.

One night after dinner, they’re both silently doing paperwork in their shared home office when Katsuki clears his throat and beckons Eijirou over to his computer

He tilts the monitor slightly and an adoption website is up, open on the information page. Katsuki doesn’t look Ei in the eye.

Eijirou kisses the top of his head and just says “ok”.

“That’s it? You’re not gonna question it or anything?” Katsu still isn’t looking directly at him, and his voice holds the slightest hint of a waver.

“Why would I? I trust you. If you’re bringing it up, then you’re ready to have the kids conversation, right love?”

“…I don’t know. I just– I can’t stop thinking about it, and picturing how a kid would fit into our place, how easy it would be to convert the guest room into a kid’s room and maybe this into a play room. But.”

“…but you’re still scared,” and the way Katsu tenses tells Ei how right he is.

“What if I’m really not ready, Ei,” he whispers.

Eijirou takes a moment to click on a tab he noticed over to the side, and once the page loads he nudges his husband. “We can always foster one first.”

Katsuki reads the page, scrolls through slowly, then exhales long and low. “You’d be alright with that?”

“Of course. I want kids, true, but not if we both aren’t comfortable with the risk. This is a good place to start.”

“What the fuck did I do to deserve you?” And he finally looks at Ei.

He grins a little, leaning down slightly to kiss the pout off his face. “Existed.”

The process is long and slow, but they make all the required changes and provide all the required documentation. They meet their foster daughter a few weeks after Katsuki brought it up.

She’s a quiet kid, with brown hair and eyes that look like she should be laughing more than she does. Her name is Rin and she is eight years old, the orphaned daughter of an English teacher and a counselor at a drug rehab. Her Quirk puts people to sleep with her voice. Eijirou loves her immediately, and even if Katsuki doesn’t show it quite the same way, so does he.

She grows up and gets less and less quiet with each day, except when her gaze gets far-off and misty and her foster dads know she’s missing her first family. She tells them about her twin brother– Yukio, whose Quirk could wake people up with his voice– after two years. He’s still alive, but in a different place because he’s special needs.

Ei and Katsu do a little digging and find that, while it wouldn’t be impossible to foster Yukio, too, it would be hard. Harder than it was to get the clearance for Rin. Nevertheless, they push for it to happen and three months later they get a call from the agency.

“Yukio is available for a home meeting. Does Sunday or Tuesday work better?”

Tuesday is Rin and Yukio’s birthday, so without hesitating Ei replies “Tuesday.”

He confirms the information the agency needs, then hangs up and slides down the hall in his socks to tell Katsu and Rin the good news where they’re working on her homework in the kitchen.

“Rin, princess, there’s going to be a special birthday surprise for you on Tuesday~” he sings, grinning broadly at the way her eyes widen.

“What is it??” she asks, bouncing slightly in her seat.

“Can’t tell you, then it won’t be a surprise,” he chuckles.

She whines, then turns to Katsu like he knows and would be inclined to tell her. Katsuki just smirks and says “what Papa said. Now, you have homework to finish before Tuesday.”

That night, after Rin is sound asleep, Katsu asks Ei what the special birthday surprise is

“Yukio is coming for a home visit. If it goes well, we’ll be fostering him too. I just got the call today.”

“That is a special birthday surprise. She’s gonna love it.”

Tuesday comes and Katsuki and Eijirou greet Yukio and the agent at the door while Rin is still at school. Half an hour later, Katsuki excuses himself to go pick her up.

“Ready to see your surprise?” he asks just before opening the front door.

“YES, Baba!”

She freezes when she sees her brother. Katsu and Ei don’t think she’s breathing, not until Yukio looks over and, smiling, says “oh hi, Rin.” Then she’s rocketing across the floor and pulling her brother into a tight hug, burying her face into his shoulder. Awkwardly, Yukio puts his arms around her, too.

A watery-sounding, muffled “I missed you, Kio,” winds through the room, and it has even Katsuki blinking back tears. The twins separate and Rin hurriedly dries her eyes, before turning to her foster dads again. “This is my birthday surprise?”

“Yup,” Katsuki confirms, nodding his head. She beams, eyes scrunching into slits. They spend the rest of the day playing and reconnecting, Rin walking her brother through her homework and how her school works and giving him a tour of their home and showing him her room. The hours pass and all too soon, it’s time for Yukio to leave.

“I don’t want you to go, Yukio,” she says as they’re walking him out. She sounds miserable, and Katsuki, Eijirou, and the agent share a look over the kids’ heads.

“Well…”

“Actually…”

“As soon as Mr. Bakugou and Mr. Kirishima create a living space for Yukio, he’ll be living with you,” the agent finishes, bending down slightly to look Rin in the eye. She gapes, then whirls to face her foster dads.

“THATS why you were trying to sell the workout equipment??”

“We’re gonna make that Yukio’s room, if he’d like,” Ei says.

Yukio thinks for a moment. “I’ll get to stay with Rin again?” The three adults nod, and he nods too, decisively. “Then yes. I’d like that.”

Two weeks later the room is redone into Yukio’s space, and he’s moving in. It’s too late in the year for him to be transferred into Rin’s school, so they hire a tutor to homeschool him until he can enter middle school with her.

And that’s how they live for the next two years. Katsuki and Eijirou are the parents of two tween terrors, and yes there are less-than-happy times between the four of them. But day by day, Ei can see the fear leave Katsuki as he learns how to be a parent.

A week before the twins’ thirteenth birthday, Katsuki blows open their bedroom door and says “Ei, we’re having a kid.”

Before he can do much more than look up and get really confused, Katsu is shoving two packets of paper under his nose and saying “It’s Rin and Yukio, sign here and here.” The packets are adoption papers, already neatly filled out and signed with Kirishima Katsuki and a blank space where Bakugou Eijirou is supposed to go.

He grins and takes them, cheekily saying “What, do I not get a say in this?” as he’s reaching for a pen. Katsu just rolls his eyes, but he can’t hide the tiny smile on his lips.

Their birthday comes and Rin and Yukio tear away the wrapping paper to find more paper still. Rin whines, disappointed that she didn’t find something flashier for her thirteenth birthday. Yukio, however. Yukio actually reads the packet.

“You’re adopting us?”

Her head whips around, so fast that Katsu and Ei are somewhat afraid she gave herself whiplash, to look at her dads. “REALLY?!”

“Yup. The certificates should be here in a day or two.”

She shrieks and jumps up, throwing herself into hugging them with all she has. “Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthank—”

Yukio, while less vocal, still grins widely and says “Thank you,” himself.

That night, when the house is dark and Katsu and Ei are lying in bed, Katsu speaks. “Hey, Ei?”

“Mm?”

“I think we’re gonna be just fine.”

Unseen in the dark, Eijirou grins and laces his fingers with Katsuki’s. He pulls his hand up and kisses the back of it before murmuring, “Of course we will. It’s us.”

“Mm. Go to sleep, Ei.”

“Love you, Katsu.”

“I love you too.”

[creepingsharia]

Flashback: Muslims cheered 9/11 attacks (video)

Many Muslims celebrated on 9/11. Many continue to celebrate. Some even want a huge mosque at Ground Zero. Never forget. Never submit.

More below the fold:

https://youtu.be/W6uOfPPpEBo

Mirror these vids as they may be wiped from history in the future.

Muslims cheered in “Northern Virginiastan” too:

The area also includes two luxury apartment high-rises that erupted into cheers when the World Trade Center fell on 9/11. Law enforcement has dubbed them the “Taliban Towers.” Investigators routinely find posters and computer screen savers celebrating Osama bin Laden as a hero.

Down the street is a Saudi charitable front for al-Qaida once run by bin Laden’s nephew. The U.S. branch of the dangerous Muslim Brotherhood is in the same office park. Farther down in Alexandria is the Saudi madrassa that’s graduated several terrorists, including the al-Qaida operative who plotted to assassinate President Bush.

Agents on the ground working the inordinate number of terror cases in the area say it’s no less than the base of operations for the bad guys in America

They cheered in Jersey City too – home of the 1993 World Trade Center bombers. From a September 18, 2001 Washington Post article:

In Jersey City, within hours of two jetliners’ plowing into the World Trade Center, law enforcement authorities detained and questioned a number of people who were allegedly seen celebrating the attacks and holding tailgate-style parties on rooftops while they watched the devastation on the other side of the river.

The FBI in Boston, via WKRG, reported:

…the office received tons of phone calls from people who feared more attacks and others reporting suspicious activity.

Many of those calls came from concerned and angry Americans reporting Muslim’s celebrating over the destruction of the twin towers and damage to the Pentagon.  The calls were logged, reports were made and there were “stacks and stacks” of them…somebody in the office began labeling them “Happy Muslim Calls.”

Dan Rather told David Letterman about Muslims across the Hudson cheering (longer version here):

CBS News report - Sept. 16, 2001, clip reporter Pablo Guzman:

"one that an investigator told me, quote, ‘was swarming’ with suspects, suspects who I’m told were cheering on the roof when they saw the plane slam into the Trade Center. Police were called to the building by the neighbors and found eight men celebrating, six of them tenants in the building."

https://youtu.be/3auKMHkZJnQ

More evidence from 2001: Woman Calls Howard Stern Show on 9/12

Now deleted NY Post column from 9/15/2001, yet archived:

Here in New York, it was easy to get angry listening to Egyptians, Palestinians and the Arabs of nearby Paterson, N.J., celebrate as they received word of the murderous attacks in New York and Washington. But Mayor Giuliani (who has been tireless and magnificent in this crisis) rightly warned New York- ers that it would be wrong to take their anger out on the city’s Arab and Muslim residents. Attacks on Arab-Americans in Paterson or elsewhere are utterly indefensible.

More via Death of the Grown-up: “They Called Sept. 11 a Glorious Event for Islam”

Akbar S. Ahmed, currently the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, D.C., and formerly the first Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD?

On p. 149 of his 2003 book, Islam Under SIege: Living Dangerously in a Post-Honor World, Ahmed describes a trip he took to Cleveland, Ohio in October of 2001 to deliver the annual lecture of the Ibn Sinna Society.

He writes:

The night before my event, my host, Dr. Zia Khan, invited about 60 professional Muslims — Arabs, Iranians, South Asians — to his home. …

When I stated that Islam had suffered a major setback after Sept. 11 (for a grossly un-Islamic act of violence), that every Muslim was in the dock as a result … I was challenged by some Arabs and Pakistanis. They called Sept. 11 a glorious event for Islam. The taking of innocent lives was justified, they argued, as Sept. 11 was the continuation of a full-scale Islamic war taking place against Israel, which is backed by the United States.

I heard a similar debate when the Muslim Council of Britain hosted a dinner for me in London in July 2002.”

More confirmation from law enforcement in NYC at the time:

Kerik: Trump Correct, New York Area Muslims Were Celebrating After 9/11

In an interview with One America News (OAN) on Tuesday, former New York City Police chief Bernard Kerik confirmed Donald Trump's claims that Muslims in the tristate area were celebrating after the September 11 terror attacks.

"We had a number of reports of people celebrating," Kerik said. "I remember Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. There were some in Queens. There were also some in Patterson, New Jersey and Jersey City." Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani also confirmed Trump's claims of jubilee in the Muslim community in an interview with CNN on Tuesday morning

More from 9/13/01: TRIO WHO CHEERED ATTACK FACE BOOT AS ILLEGAL ALIENS

Three men who celebrated as the Twin Towers crumbled are facing deportation, The Post has learned.

The men, described as illegal immigrants from the Middle East, were arrested Tuesday afternoon in a white Chevy van near the Meadowlands based on a tip from witnesses who saw them “cheering” and “jumping up and down” in Liberty State Park after the attack, a source said.

It seems a story kept from U.S. media was the fact that news media were threatened with death over the video images of Muslims celebrating the 9/11 attacks and news media submitted. Read about that here including The Associated Press on Wednesday protested to the Palestinian Authority about threats against a freelance cameraman who filmed Palestinians celebrating terror attacks in the United States.

Muslims also started referring to the hijackers as the Magnificent 19:

Related Posts: Some Jersey City Muslims did celebrate 9/11, cop and residents say

AP Video: https://youtu.be/UucjbGmJILk

[rock-em-sock-em-rock-n-roll]

Blueberry Pancakes (The Dirt! Nikki/Tommy)

Pt. One

(Summary: Nikki wakes up with Tommy in his bed, and tries to remember what happened the night before.)

Warnings: Alcohol, slight smut, swearing

Nikki’s POV

Oh God, my head hurt. What day was it? Saturday? Monday? Tuesday? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was hungover, and I needed more sleep.

I rolled around in my bed, trying to find a comfortable sleeping position, when I bumped into something. That something was Tommy Lee. What the fuck happened last night? Just how drunk was I?

I looked over at him despite myself. His face was completely covered in the sheets he pulled over from my side of the bed. Okay, so he was a blanket hogger. Good to know. -Wait. Why would that be good to know? Scratch that bit.

Although I couldn’t see his face, I could tell it was Tommy by that huge, trademark hair of his. I’d never say it aloud, in fact I almost never even think it, but sometimes I got jealous of Tommy’s hair. Only sometimes.

I was shaken out of my thoughts when Tommy rolled over, finally revealing his face. Damn, was he pretty. Even when he was drooling he was gorgeous. He looked so peaceful and happy. The happiness, I’m glad to say, I was used to. But the peacefulness was a nice change of pace. Now don’t get me wrong, I loved the usual restless, wild Tommy. We were absolute hell when we were being restless and wild together -get your mind out of the fucking gutter- We were the Terror Twins, after all. It was just nice to see him all calm and relaxed. He deserved it. You know what else he deserved? Some fuckin blueberry pancakes.

I quietly get dressed, without disturbing Tommy, shielding my eyes from the ultra-bright sunlight that somehow came in so vibrantly from the closed curtains. I get a little dizzy now and then thanks to the hangover, but I power through it. This routine is nothing new. Aside from Tommy being here, someone I care about, instead of just some groupie I hardly knew.

I walked into the kitchen, and looked for any clues that might have told me what happened the night before. There was nothing unusual besides Tommy’s jacket on the ground by the door. Somehow, that’s exactly what my brain needed to get the memory stirring.

~Last night~

~ Tommy and I rushed in, practically hanging of each other. I tore off his jacket, leaving it on the floor, as he smothered me with wet, speedy kisses, starting at my lips, and making his way down my neck. A small moan escaped my lips. 

We were both completely wasted. Nothing new there. What was new, was the sensation Tommy was giving me. We had never kissed before that night, but in that same night, we went way over that line.

We made our way to the bedroom, and things escalated pretty quickly from there. The weirdest thing about all this was how much I enjoyed it. And I don’t just mean Tommy’s body -Although Tommy’s body was a huge plus- but just being with Tommy alone, for once. All alone. All to me. ~

~Present~

Okay, so with that, and some other pieces I’d put together, we didn’t just get drunk and fuck. We talked and danced at some club.

~Last Night~

~ “Hey, Tommy,” I greeted Tommy, who was sitting at the bar, trying to get some big shot producer to leave him alone. “Why don’t you piss off, Suit?” I said to the producer. He left immediately, as if I was the first person to say this. 

The waitress came and took my order of a rum and coke. Tommy was at least buzzed, I could tell. 

“Hey, Nik,” he smiled. “You look nice tonight. Did you do something new? Maybe new lipstick?” He was staring at my lips, and complementing my lipstick when I wasn’t even wearing any. Yeah, he was definitely drunk. 

I laughed, “Thanks, dude.”

“Dude’s getting kind of old. Why don’t you come up with another name for me? Maybe even change my last name.” He winked.

I stammered. “Uh, yeah, sure, Tommy. Whatever you want.”

“You mean that? Anything I want?”

A waitress came and brought me my drink, and I chugged it down quickly, wanting to keep talking to Tommy. I knew he was just saying all this because he was drunk, but I wouldn’t deny that I loved it.

Another waitress past by, and saw that I had emptied my drink, so she slid me another one, which I also knocked back.

“Anything,” I challenged, leaning forward. Tommy leaned forward too, and for a second I thought he was going to kiss me. 

Instead he said, “Come dance with me.” 

Before I could even answer, he had dragged me to the dance floor. Vince was off on the side, flirting with some girl, and Mick sat at the bar, drinking.

Unsurprisingly, Tommy was a great dancer. What he did with his hips, I couldn’t even describe. Soon he held out his hand for me to grab, and he pulled me into his arms, flush against him. He grabbed my waist, and somehow managed to bring me even closer to him. 

“T-Tommy,” I stutter, completely red faced. Just what was he trying to do to me?

“Yeah, baby?” He whispers breathily into my ear. I shiver, and he’s so close he can feel it. “There a problem?”

“Yes,” I thought. “You’re not in my bed.” “No, Tommy Boy. Nothing’s wrong.” He laughed his amazing laugh at “Tommy Boy”.

“Good. I wouldn’t want you to be…” He thrusted his hips into mine, causing me to go weak. “uncomfortable,” he purred.

“Tommy, we’re in public,” I told him, voice threatening to give out. I looked over to Mick and Vince who were now both at the bar, laughing senselessly at us.

“Then come on,” he whispered in my ear. “Let’s have some booze.” And with that, he slowly dragged his hand across my chest before swaying off to the bar. I followed, not knowing what else I would do.

Once I made my way through the crowd and to the bar, Tommy had already ordered me a whiskey.

“There you are, Nikki. I was afraid you ran away,” Tommy said, smiling.

“What? Run? From you? Now why would I do that?” I took a swig from my glass bottle, and looked him in the eyes. “I’d never run from you.” 

He leaned in closer. “You mean that?” And then he kissed me. He really fucking kissed me. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little disappointed that our first kiss was when we were both two sheets to the wind, but what are you gonna do? He kissed me, so I wasn’t gonna focus on the little details.

I could see Vince and Mick from the corner of my eye. Mick rolled his eyes at us, but I could see a little smile. Vince looked genuinely surprised that we kissed, which I thought was kind of strange, considering he wasn’t at all shocked to see us practically grinding on the dance floor earlier. 

I kissed Tommy back, because what else would I possibly do? Why would I want to do anything else? His lips were soft, and maybe a little chapped, but that was covered with his blood red lipstick, which I was sure was now on my own lips.

He gently pulled away, and put a bottle up to my lips. I took a sip.

“Stop trying to get me even more drunk than I already am.” He looked at me a little sad. Did he think I only loved him when I was drunk? I fucking loved him weather I was sober or not, and he better have known that. “I love you when I’m sober too, babe.” Did. I. Just. Fucking. Drop. The. L. Bomb. Did. I. Really. Just. Fucking. Do. That.

He looked completely taken aback. That was understandable. But also com-fucking-lutely nerve wracking. 

But then he smiled. He smiled his pretty, gorgeous, life saving smile.

“I love you too, Nikki.” Nosebleed time? No. Not yet. But I did want to fucking faint and fall into his arms. Tommy said he loved me. Tommy said he loved me.

I couldn’t even say anything. So I did what any rational person would do. I grabbed his faced, and smashed it into mine. He giggled into my lips. He was so perfect.

But something was weird… He was absolutely shitfaced, but he hardly smelled or tasted like alcohol. I pulled away and looked at him, confused.

He seemed nervous now. 

“What’s wrong?” It kind of hurt me to see him looking scared of me like this. Did he think he did something wrong?

“Nothing, just…. Are you sober right now?”

I know it’s kind of weird for the first chapter to leave off in a cliff-hanger in a flashback, but whatever. 

At first this was at first gonna only be a short fluff oneshot, but do you really think I control the stuff I write? Do you really?

Anyway, I hoped you liked this, and the second chapter is on it’s way.

@fan-with-issues If anyone else wants me to tag them in the next chapter, all you have to do is ask :)

[recentanimenews]

Happy Birthday, Space Cowboy: A Shinichiro Watanabe Retrospective

  Today we wish a very happy birthday to the Cowboy Bebop director, the one and only Shinichiro Watanabe! Watanabe-san has been a powerhouse in the world of anime for well over two decades, working with acclaimed studios such as Sunrise Inc., Studio Nue, and BONES. His mastery at blending Western and Eastern elements has earned Watanabe a devoted fanbase in many different countries. One of the most consistent aspects of Watanabe's catalog is his skill at successfully amalgamating a variety of genres from sci-fi to Westerns to comedy and more.

In honor of Watanabe's birthday, I'll be exploring the artistic depth of three anime from his impressive oeuvre and celebrating the very special spark that can be found in all his works. Read on for more!

Terror in Resonance (2014)

Terror in Resonance seems critically underappreciated when compared to some of Watanabe's other directorial efforts. Though it lacks the robust character development and sense of immersion found in his other titles, the series still retains many of the qualities that make Watanabe such a globally respected anime auteur.

Terror in Resonance follows two high-school-aged terrorists named Twelve and Nine as they plot a series of bombings in order to reveal the injustices enacted against them — and many other children — during a secret government operation called the Athena Plan. Along the way, a lonely girl named Lisa finds herself enwrapped in the boys' mission, and experiences camaraderie for the first time due to their presence.

The show's basic premise alone reflects Watanabe's willingness to explore uncommon thematic spaces by featuring literal terrorists as two of the main characters. Common in his other works as well, Watanabe invites viewers to feel compassion for characters who inhabit the outermost margins of societal acceptability. The show doesn't endorse Twelve and Nine's actions, but it does position them as isolated characters with real human attributes, acting coherently in retaliation to the incorrigible exploitation they faced as children. Twelve and Nine also make extreme efforts to make sure no one is killed due to their bombings, which serves as an empathetic deviation from standard depictions of terrorists as one-sided, monstrous caricatures.

Ultimately, Terror in Resonance features many trademarks of Watanabe's unique touch: compassionate explorations of loneliness, a tragic narrative interspersed with brief moments of beauty, and yet another gorgeous soundtrack by Yoko Kanno (a frequent collaborator with Watanabe).

Macross Plus (1995)

Watanabe made his directorial debut as co-director for Macross Plus working alongside Shoji Kawamori (the creator of the original Macross). This four-part OVA is the best flying mech, artifcial-intelligence-pop-music-gone-horribly-wrong redo of Top Gun I've ever seen. I remember I first saw it on the Starz Channel back in 2002 or 2003. It was fun to revisit the US dub recently with the fresh realization that Bryan Cranston — aka Walter White, our favorite fictional suburban meth dealer — did the voice acting for the main character Isamu. Isamu is like a more womanizing Spike from Cowboy Bebop, mixed with the arrogance of Mugen from Samurai Champloo, and is an early example of a recurrent protagonist-archetype in Watanabe's titles. The playful comedic qualities Watanabe would become known for were already apparent in much of Macross Plus, such as the scene when Isamu and his rival Bowman bring up old adolescent/high-school gripes while they're both engaged in an airborne mech-duel to the death.

Once again, Yoko Kanno's absolutely incredible score must be mentioned. The soundtrack ranges from orchestral music perfect for dogfights to emotional ballads and '90s trance (there's also a really cool reference to the Aphex Twin album "Selected Ambient Works 85-92" on a bus sign in one scene). Watanabe's first directorial outing already grapples with a subject near and dear to his heart: music. The last episode features an intense sequence involving an AI popstar named Sharon Apple, who takes control of everyone viewing her concert via seductive musical mind control. This scene explores a what-if scenario: an imagined future where technology meshes with the power of music for nefarious — rather than healing — ends. Either way, since Watanabe is a self-proclaimed "music freak," it's fun to watch him implement a plot device about just how disruptively powerful music can be (his most recent anime Carole and Tuesday tackles AI and pop music with a more neutral lens, as an FYI). Macross Plus is not to be missed.

Cowboy Bebop (1998)

  I'll never forget what it was like to experience Cowboy Bebop for the very first time when it initially aired on Adult Swim in 2001. I must have been 12 or 13 at the time, and few pieces of media have made such a lasting impression on me. I was already extremely impressed even after seeing the first episode "Asteroid Blues," but it's the fifth episode entitled "Ballad of Fallen Angels" — where viewers are introduced for the first time to the central antagonist Vicious — that completely sold me on the series.

"Ballad of Fallen Angels" culminates in a climactic battle that takes place in a church, with the main character Spike duking it out against Vicious and his goons. The most memorable moment for me is the scene when Spike is thrown out of the top of the church by Vicious. Spike falls in slow-motion as viewers are treated to a montage of his tragic crime syndicate past and his relationship with his lost love Julia. It's such a stunning moment that perfectly echoes the old creative writing adage "show don't tell," since it subtly expresses so much about Spike's life without explicitly battering it over your head. The scene speaks volumes in just a few wordless seconds, with no sounds to be heard at all other than Yoko Kanno's gorgeous choir and piano-based track "Green Bird." I've drifted toward arthouse movies as I've grown older, and I truly think the aforementioned scene was my first time experiencing the ineffable artfulness that I find in the experimental films that move me most. It feels a little silly and overblown to say, but the sequence feels like it contains a large spectrum of life — love, hate, sadness, memories, dreams, etc.

Cowboy Bebop is a show that abounds with moments like this. There are so many moving scenes rich in an atmospheric tenderness that aches with longing, loneliness, and beauty. Intimate scenes where characters in interstellar ships stare quietly at a sea of stars. A view of someone smoking a cigarette alone in a dimly lit alleyway. Or something like the ending of "Waltz for Venus," when a music box-esque song plays while Spike gazes into the sky as spores that can blind drift downward like snow.

I could go on and on about the series — the masterful quality of Keiko Nobumoto's screenplay, the riveting action sequences and lovable characters, the expert blend of genres coupled with breathtaking animation and music, and how Spike's somewhat Buddhist philosophy (whatever happens, happens) influenced my own. Cowboy Bebop truly deserves all the praise and is undoubtedly one of the best animated works of all time.

So here's to you Shinichiro Watanabe. I hope you have a birthday as stunning and cool as the anime you've graced the world with.

What else do you love by Shinichiro Watanabe, and why? Sounds off in the comments below!

    Do you love anime? Do you love writing? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[littlemissheavenonearth]

Them❤️🥺

[eliniei]

Prompt request! Could you do a Curtis sister one shot where the sister (you can determine how old), is vision or hearing impaired?? :)

Okay, so, this got a little away from the prompt, I think. But I think it’s my best, nonetheless. Tuesday belongs to @sixties-sodapop. 

Masterlist: here

Warnings: violet trauma, loss, car accident

Loss

When I woke up, everything was dark and eerily quiet. I blinked my eyes several times, trying to clear them, but it didn’t seem to help.

I turned my head to the side, and felt something wrapped around my head. Confusion spread over my body- and something else, too. I couldn’t place it, but goosebumps spread down my arms, making my hair stand on end.

Was…was this dread?

We were…we were just out to do a little grocery shopping. Me, mom, and dad, too. The boys wanted to stay home. But, Darry and I were going away to college soon. I wanted to spend all the time I could with them before I left.

Mom suggested we stop in at one of the clothing shops afterwards and get me a couple new outfits while dad went to check out the sporting good’s store- to see if he could find something for Darry and his coming football career.

“It’s hot in Texas,” she had told me. “You’re gonna want more shorts, right?”

Panic welled up inside of me and I sat up, quickly. Something pulled in the bend of my elbow. With my other hand, I reached over and felt something taped to my arm. Terror clawed up my throat and my chest started heaving but-

That’s weird. I know I’m breathing- I can feel it. Why-why can’t I hear it? I should be able to hear… What-what the-

I felt someone sit down on the side of- was I in a bed? They put their hands on top of my arms. I could tell they were trying to calm me down but they’re not telling me what’s happened or why I’m here. It just made it worse.

After we’d gotten everything mom thought I’d needed for school next year, we headed out. Dad had finished before we did, and he was waiting at the car with a smile and a milkshake for each of us. Two vanillas for him and mom, strawberry for me.

“Don’t tell the boys,” he’d said. “Our little secret.” He held a hand up to his lips. It made me giggle. I loved my parents very much.

The person sitting on the bed with me was talking. I could feel the vibration of words through their hands. I paused, trying to listen. I shook my head. Nothing worked. They stopped and shifted a little.

Whoever it was stood up again, but they moved closer to me. Their shirt barely brushed my arm, but I still felt it. My head bobbed slightly. What was around my head? A bandage? Whatever it was, it was being unwound.

With each layer gone, light slowly filtered in. A mesh pattern filled my eyes. Gauze. It was a bandage. I blinked a few times, trying to clear my thoughts and my memory. What on earth happened?

Once we’d gotten rid of any milkshake-y evidence, we were on the road back home. I was animatedly going on about what I’d read about the campus and the town surrounding it.

“There are tons of jobs for students, too,” I informed them. “So maybe I can get one and help pay for my books or somethin’.”

“That’s great, honey,” dad replied, smiling at me from the rear view mirror. Mom sighed, happily.

“I’m so happy you two are goin’ to college,” she started. She reached across the front console and squeezed dad’s arm. “We never had the opportunity and I’m overjoyed that you both have somethin’ that you’re passionate about. I just hope Pony and Soda are the same way.”

The gauze was lifted from my face. The bright lights made me squint and I lifted one hand to shield them. The pull in my arm was back, so I glanced down and saw an IV sticking out. I felt my face drain of blood and my head swam, my body threatening to pass out.

I felt fingers under my chin and a gentle tug. I looked up and saw my twin brother sitting on the bed in front of me. But he-he looked…something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

I grinned wide enough to show my teeth. She was right. I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Darry, too.

I was really excited about being on my home, too. I was going to miss everyone here, sure, but this was a new chapter in my life. If that’s not exciting, then I don’t know what is.

“Oh, shoot,” mom said from the front seat. “I forgot flour while we were out.”

“That’s alright, honey,” dad assured her. “We aren’t too far away from the store. We’ll just go back real quick.” He flipped his turn signal on and slowed down the car to turn.

Darry’s face was different. His eyes were puffy, dark circles underneath. His cheeks were sunken, and his lips so pale they were nearly white. He looked sick. My brow furrowed and I looked around the rest of the room.

I was in a hospital room. Sodapop was asleep in a chair on the other side of the room, his chin resting against his chest, and his long, greasy hair hanging over his eyes. Ponyboy was curled up in the empty bed to the right of me, covered with a thin hospital blanket. His nose was red, his closed eyes puffy.

My eyes slid back to Darry.

“Tuesday?” he said. Or, I assumed that’s what he said. I mean- I know what my own name looks like on other peoples’ lips.

The only problem was that.. I couldn’t hear it.

Dad looked both ways before turning. That is one thing I remember distinctly, because what happened next seemed so ridiculous to me.

He started pulling back out onto the road. When I turned to look out my window, I saw him. He’d come out of nowhere, driving fast. So, so fast.

I didn’t have time to do anything more than gasp before he smashed right into our car.

“Darry?” I said. I felt my voice working, my mouth forming the word. But…there was no sound…

My brother must’ve been able to read it on my face. He turned towards the door and my eyes followed. A man in a white coat was heading in, a nurse with a clipboard on his heels. Her mouth was moving. He reached back for the paperwork. She reached out and handed it to him.

The doctor and Darry talked back and forth for a few minutes. My eyes followed the conversation, trying to pick up on words, but they were speaking too fast. Finally, I got fed up.

“What’s happened?” I yelled. They both stopped and turned to me with wide eyes. Soda jumped awake in his chair.

The force of the impact to the front of the car forced my body to one side. I hit my head against the window next to me. It made me groan, loudly and I heard a ringing in my ears.

Time seemed to slow and I saw mom turn to look at me.

“Tuesday!” she cried.

“Mom?”

But, the car wasn’t finished moving.

My brother heaved a sigh and nodded to the doctor, who was eyeing him, waiting for an answer. He handed the file to me. I set it down in my lap and started reading.

Tuesday Lynn Curtis. Okay, that’s me.

Car accident. Right. With mom and dad.

Trauma to head. D-detached retinas. Reattached through surgery.

W-what?

Temporal bone fracture. Ruptured ear drums. Surgical repairment, but permanent loss of hearing possible.

I’m…deaf?

A tear fell onto the paper under me. The ink welled up in the drop.

I looked up at Darry, eyes wide, unwanted tears streaming down my cheeks. His entire face was a picture of grief. He averted his eyes from mine and nodded.

The car that had just crashed into us kept going. I could hear the squeal of brakes, but it wasn’t fast enough.

Our car started flipping.

The impact was so hard- the driver in the other car driving so fast- our car turned over in the air multiple times. My seatbelt cut into my neck and I couldn’t control my arms as they flung out with the movement.

My head bounced off the window a few more times.

When the car finally slid to a stop, completely upside down, the edges of my vision were fuzzy.

The last thing I remember before blacking out completely is seeing my father’s glassy, unfocused eyes in the rear view mirror, blood dripping from his ear to the roof of the car.

“Mom? A-and dad?” I said, my voice shaky.

Tears welled up in my brother’s eyes. He took a deep, shuddering breath, trying to keep himself from breaking.

Darry shook his head.

A sob escaped my lips and I threw the clipboard. It hit the wall and landed on the floor. I dropped my face into my hands and bawled. I’m sure they were loud, awful, heartbreaking cries.

I’d never felt anguish before. I imagine this is what it felt like.

I felt Darry gather me up in his arms. His shoulders shook as he cried with me. I don’t know how long we sat like that. It had to have been a long time.

When we separated, my other two brothers were sitting on the other side of the bed. Their faces- they broke my heart even more than it already was. Pony was sniffling and wiping his nose, but Soda held up a piece of paper for me to see.

We’ll get through this together.

[agentmarymargaretskitz]

My Name’s Jeff

Happy birthday to my birthday twin @somebodyhelpthenotdeadfreds! I love our shenanigans with Legends and Hannibal and Constangreen and everything. Even though we’re angst monsters, I couldn’t help but make something on the side of fluffy. Here’s to hopefully surviving the finale tonight and angsting and self-projecting on Gary more!

Ao3

“Wakey wakey.”

           John sat upright in the armchair he’d crashed in the night before. He had vague memories of splitting one of Rip Hunter’s last bottles of whiskey with Charlie and Mick in the parlor. Based on the minor ache in his skull, he’d had his fair share of it. There had been worse hangovers though,

“What’s happening?” he mumbled, rubbing his eyes to get a clearer image of Charlie perched in front of him. “Did we break time again?”

“Nope,” the shapeshifter snorted. “Another missions. Up and at ‘em, Johno!”

           He groaned and rolled off the chair. Mick was absent from the parlor, but soon appeared on the bridge a few moments later looking as miserable as John felt. At least the arsonist had made it to his room the previous night. The rest of the team, including Ava, was already waiting for the three of them to be ready for duty.

“Sharpie,” John raised his hand in greeting. “Good to see you. Where’s the rest of the Bureau entourage?”

“Mona and Nate are holding down the fort,” the director replied curtly. “Gary took the day off. Something about picking up his dad from the airport, but that’s the point. We’ve got a new alert that came up this morning.”

“Well, what’s cropped up this time?”

Ray pulled up a few newspaper clippings on the central console. “Our latest mythtery-”

The reactions to that ranged from cringes to sighs.

“-is in Minnesota, 1989. People in a small town start getting attacked and killed by some kind of wild animal. Authorities are never able to figure out what it is, but people reported hearing dogs or wolves nearby the crime scenes. No normal animal can do this much damage.”

A photograph enlarged to display a severely mauled corpse. It was hard to tell it had been ever been human.

Zari shuddered. “Gross.”

Sara nodded. “Whatever did this wasn’t originally from our world. What kind of creature does this though?”

John walked forward and took a closer look at the pictures. An involuntary shudder traveled down his spine. He had seen bodies in this condition before and knew what could do that kind of damage. The worst part about it was that theses creatures were only able to do bidding for another.

“You recognize it too, don’t you?” Charlie said.

“Hellhound,” John confirmed.

“Those are a thing?” Ray asked.

“Oh, they are,” Charlie nodded. “Except they weren’t in the slammer with me. They’re from-“

“Let me take a wild guess, hell?”

John nodded to answer Zari’s question. “They can be summoned from there, but it takes an immense amount of energy.”

“What’s the point of summoning a hellhound?” Mick muttered. “Get a hitman.”

“Oh, if you really want revenge, then you call up a hellhound,” John told him. “They will do all your bidding and cause as much destruction as your black heart desires. Controlling them ain’t easy, and they can go on a rampage if you lose it.”

“Okay, so now we know what it is,” Sara said, bringing the conversation back to the mission. “So someone could have lost control over the hellhound, that explains the massacre. Four people died in total during this, so any one of them could have been the original target. My money’s on the first dead guy.”

“Makes sense,” Ava agreed. “We find out who did it, get to them, and then deal with the hound. I’m going to have to call Mona and see how much she needs to prep to care for one.”

“Don’t bother,” John shook his head and turned around. “This one is going straight back to hell. You can’t keep a killing machine like this in the Bureau.”

“We’ll see about that,” Ava muttered. “Okay, who was the first victim?”

Ray scrolled past a few articles. “A plumber. He was killed outside his home in the middle of the night. No witnesses.”

“Why would someone want to kill a plumber?” Zari asked as everyone made their way to their seats to strap in for the time jump.

“No idea,” Sara shrugged. “But clearly someone bit off more than they could chew with revenge.”

~~~

           The plan was straightforward. Half of the Legends would tail the plumber. The rest of them would search for any sign of the hellhound and piece together the trail of destruction to see if there was any connections between the attacks. Unfortunately, John hadn’t been able to find any sign of a summoning from hell occurring recently. However, there were traces of other magical presences in the town, but John and Charlie couldn’t figure out what it belonged to.

“You sure this is the one who died?” John asked as he, Ray, and Charlie sat out in a car outside the plumber’s house. “He doesn’t seem to have done anything to piss anyone off.”

“Z thinks he’s clean too,” Charlie agreed. “She ran his record. But then again, there’s always something deep down.”

“Hey, he’s coming out,” Ray pointed ahead of the house where their victim was now exiting with a bag of trash. “Be quiet.”

“He won’t be able to hear-” Charlie began as John started rolling down the window. “Hey, what are you-”

“Shhh,” John frowned. “You smell that?”

Ray’s nose wrinkled. “Smells like sulfur.”

“It’s here,” Charlie opened the car door. “Let’s do this.”

           The men followed after the shapeshifter as the smell became even stronger. A different man was coming down the other end of the street in a nice suit while the plumber lugged the trash bag towards a can on the burn. From the shadows, Charlie swore someone was chanting in a different language before the pavement on the street cracked. The Legends, along with the men on the street, turned towards it and watched it grow larger. A massive dark beast burst out of the ground, snarling and slobbering. The plumber screamed, but the hellhound was more focused on the other man. Charlie had a sudden realization that they might have been following the wrong victim.

“Uhhh,” the new man took a step back. “Nice dog?”

The hellhound growled and lunged- only to be clipped across the snout by a laser.

“Stay back!” Ray shouted, his gauntlet aimed at the beast as it turned towards him.

“And now you’ve pissed it off,” John grumbled, turning to the stunned plumber while Ray shot the hound again. “Get inside, now!”

           The plumber didn’t need to be told twice as he scampered back to his house. Meanwhile, the other man was backing away as the hellhound got back on its paws and crept towards him. Ray hurried forward and did all that he could to keep the hellhound distracted. Charlie made a move to grab the man off the sidewalk and run him back to the car. Ray was right behind with the Atom gauntlet still on his arm and pointed at the hellhound. John was doing some kind of spell, one Charlie recognized would send the creature back to the pits of hell.

Except it wasn’t working.

“John, come on!”

“Hang on!” he shouted before swearing and chanting something else that sent the hellhound flying back into a streetlight.

“Why didn’t you send it back to hell?” Charlie yelled as John ran back to the car and drove inside.

“I couldn’t!” John shot back as Charlie stepped on the gas. “Someone’s keeping it tethered to Earth.”

“Uh, what’s happening?” the man they’d brought from the street whimpered in the backseat. “I don’t know who you people are, but you can’t take me. I have to go home.”

“Do that and you endanger anyone there that you love,” John snapped while they all kept running red lights. “I managed to slow that thing down with a spell. Its tracking will be messed up long enough to give us a day. Sooner or later, it’ll wear off and then it’ll come after you again. Right now, the safest place for you is with us.”

“Oh god,” the man murmured, eyes wide in terror. “I can’t go home. They’ll be in danger. Wait, you’re in danger too now if you’re with me, right?”

“Danger’s just another Tuesday for us,” Ray offered lightly. “Don’t worry, we’re going to help sort this out. Then you can go back to your home.”

“Will my kids at home be safe from the hellhound if I’m not there?”

Charlie frowned at how calm he was while calling the thing a hellhound, but John nodded. “They only go after your live scent.”

“So they’ll be okay. Oh, thank goodness. Wherever you’re taking me, can I get a phone to call my sister? I had a date and she’s the one watching my kids.”

Ray smiled. “Definitely, but don’t mention this whole…situation just yet.”

“Yeah,” the man nodded. “Do you people work for the government or something?”

“In a way,” John shrugged, turning around to the backseat. “You gotta a name?”

“Jeff. Jeff Green.”

Charlie looked away from the road long enough to meet Jeff’s eyes and could tell he was hiding something. “Well, Jeff, don’t worry. We’ll get this all sorted.”

~~~

           Once they got back to the Waverider, they put Jeff in the old brig with a cot and a phone that he could call his sister with. The group listened in on the conversation and were relieved that he didn’t giver her too much information about the circumstances. Meanwhile, they all tried to figure out what to do next, since the plumber hadn’t been the target like they suspected. Gideon did find out that the last person to die in the string of attacks had been Jeff Green, and the activity had ceased immediately after. Since the plumber had been saved, they now had figure out how the other two deaths could have connected to Jeff and how to stop all three from being killed.

“The hellhound’s still out there, but he can’t track Jeff right now,” Ray told the others. “John put a sort of spell on it that gives us a day before it strikes again. So it can’t go after Jeff for a while.”

“That’s good news,” Sara nodded. “Can it go after anyone else?”

“It’s like blindfolding someone’s senses,” John told her. “The beast can still run around, but it won’t be certain of what it’s following. Daytime also makes it weak, it’s sensitive to light and it’ll hide. So We’ve just got whatever’s left of the night to worry about now, then time to figure this out in the day.”

“Okay,” Sara nodded. “Ava and I will go stake out the other two just in case for the rest of the night. The rest of you stay on board and see if you can figure out why the hellhound went after Jeff.”

“Speaking of that,” Charlie turned away from the screen. “Either of you boys notice that he knew what a hellhound was, even though we never told him.”

Ray frowned as he recalled the conversation. “We…we didn’t tell him.”

Everyone looked at the screen where Jeff was now pacing back and forth in front of the phone.

“He seemed pretty concerned that he couldn’t go home to his family,” Charlie said. “If I was more a bleeding heart, I would focus on that too.”

“So what, he knows monsters are real?” Mick asked.

“Wouldn’t surprise me,” John sighed. “Town’s got a magical stench about it. There’s more than just a hellhound here. But Jeff is a human.”

“Doesn’t mean he might not know anyone who is secretly a fugitive,” Ava suggested. “Where was he before the hellhound attacked?”

“A date. He was coming back from it, I think.”

“If I might interrupt,” Gideon called. “But Dr. Green appears to be making a call to a second number. Perhaps that will shed some more light on the situation.”

“Turn the audio on,” Sara ordered. “Everyone hush for this.”

On the screen, Jeff stopped pacing and stood where he was in the cell. “Puck, it’s Jeff. A hellhound came after me when I was heading back to my car. I’m safe with some people, don’t worry. I don’t know if you’re in danger because of it, but please be careful. I can’t lose another person I love.”

With that, he hung up and sat back down on the cot.

“Well then,” Sara spun to face the rest of the team. “He does know about hellhounds.”

“And so does this Puck he called,” Ava added. “That’s two people so far.”

Zari cracked her fingers. “I’m going to see if I can find anything on this guy. Or Jeff for that matter.”

“Ava and I will watch over the other two,” Sara told them. “The rest of you watch over Jeff or see if there’s anything to break the spell keeping it here.”

~~~

“How much did you find on Jeff or Puck?” Sara asked as she stumbled into the kitchen at sunrise.

“Nothing on Puck,” Zari reported. “I don’t have a last name, but I can’t find anyone with one that name anywhere in this time. Jeff Green, on the other hand, is about as normal as you can get. He’s a dentist in the town and has no priors, no arrests, not mob ties. His wife died a few years ago and he has three kids, but there’s nothing remarkable about him at all.”

“A hellhound attacked him,” John reminded them. “Which means he did something.”

“Well, he did say he had that date,” Charlie said as she sat on top of the counter with a box of cereal. “And with other magical creatures in the town, it’s possible he could have been on a date with one of them. Maybe it went poorly and this was revenge?”

“Pretty strong revenge,” Sara muttered. “But what if…what if Puck was the date?”

Zari nodded. “Jeff did say he couldn’t lose someone else he loved, right? Makes sense to me.”

Sara yawned. “John, can you talk to Jeff and see if you can get him to tell you anything about Puck? Zari, keep digging, there’s got to be something. Maybe Puck’s a fake name or-”

“Oh, bloody hell!” Charlie slammed her hands on the counter before sliding off and storming out. The others stared in confusion before turning back to each other.

“I’m going to look into Puck,” Zari announced.

“Gonna sleep soon,” Sara yawned. “John?”

“Yeah, I’m going.”

~~~

When John entered the brig, Jeff was awake. He looked up quickly as soon as the doors of the cell opened. The unease on his face was all too obvious. Clean record or not, he’d clearly been involved in something. Time to find out what that was.

“Just me,” John said as he entered the cell. “Captain asked me to check up on you. Quite the scare you had last night.”

“I’m okay. Have you dealt with the thing yet? Not to be impatient, but I really want to get back home.”

“As soon as it’s taken care of, you can,” John promised, pulling out a cigarette. “You wouldn’t happen to know why it would want to attack you, would you?”

Jeff shook his head. “No. Last time I checked, I haven’t pissed off any hellhounds.”

“Okay,” John flicked his lighter and lit the cigarette. “Although we never told you it was a hellhound. You knew it all on your own, didn’t you? Now that makes my job a little easier, but it doesn’t explain why a mortal like yourself knows about them.”

The dentist grinned weakly. “Lucky guess?”

“Did Puck tell you about them?” John pressed, stepping closer. “After all, you did call and tell him about it after you made that call to your sister. How ‘bout you tell me how he fits into all of this?”

“You listened in on my phone call,” Jeff sighed. “Well, he didn’t pick up, so I had to leave a message. He won’t be any help until he gets it. But when he does, he’ll be the one who comes and finds me with the people who took me off the street.”

“Sorry for saving your life,” John muttered as he exhaled a stream of smoke. “But you’re going to need to start telling us stuff. For starters, you know about magical creatures? Was it Puck who told you?”

Jeff nodded.

“He’s one of them, isn’t he?”

“Not my story to tell.”

“Alright, then how about one you can tell? What is your relationship with Puck? Secret lovers? Boyfriends? An affair?”

Jeff stared at him. “Why would I tell you a thing when I don’t even know who you are? Maybe you did save me from getting dragged to hell, but I’m going to need a little more information first.”

“John Constantine. Exorcist, demonologist, master or petty dabbler of the dark arts depending on the day. Also a time traveler, I can add that to the resume. Now with that out of the way, tell me about Puck.”

It seemed to satisfy Jeff, who gave a nod. “Yeah, he’s my boyfriend. We’re not public about it though.”

“Small town problems, right? How long you two been together?”

“Five months next week. We were talking about him meeting my kids soon.”

“Isn’t that charming?” John smirked. “Think they’ll like him?”

Jeff’s lips twitched into a smile. “Levi’s still a toddler, and he’s pretty happy with anyone who doesn’t take a crayon away from him. He draws on just about anything. Paper, the walls, books, his clothes. My oldest could go either way. JJ was so close with Miriam, and he really misses her. But he also told me that he’s glad I’m happier lately. I’d rather my kids remember me being happy in their childhood instead of sad.”

Jeff sighed. “But the middle one…I really hope he likes Puck. He takes more after me than Miriam. I know he’s been having problems fitting in at school and making friends. Hopefully this will be a good thing for him and not make the other stuff worse. He’s got a heart of gold, but he’s so shy and lets himself get beaten down so much.”

John flicked some ash onto the floor. “He might grow out of it.”

“I hope so,” the dentist chuckled. “JJ used to be shy too before he was loud and chaotic, but Miriam was the one who got him out of his shell before she died.”

“Well, losing a mother is hard,” John murmured. “Some fathers become the worst versions of themselves when that happens. But that doesn’t seem to be you. You care about your family. You don’t want them to be in danger. That’s why you came willingly with us, because you couldn’t endanger your sons.”

“Well, they’re the brightest parts of my life,” Jeff told him, opening up his wallet and passing a picture to John. “I want them to be okay and safe.”

John studied the picture of Jeff, a woman who must have been the dead wife, and three boys sitting on a couch.

“Stacey, my sister, took this when Levi was four months old,” Jeff explained, reaching over and pointing out each child. “He’s on Miriam’s lap. JJ’s right next to her. And between him and me, that’s the middle boy. That’s Gary.”

“Gary,” John frowned as pieces started to fit together. “Gary…Green?”

“Yes.”

John looked back down at the picture and little Gary’s face before passing it back to Jeff. “I have to go.”

~~~

“Is there a reason why we’re on the bridge?” Ava asked as she stretched out again. “Did we find a way to corner the hellhound?”

“What about Charlie?” Ray added. “It’s been hours since she left the ship.”

“Yeah, and she still hasn’t come back yet,” John told him. “So I did talk with Jeff. Puck is the one who told him about creatures, so he’s probably one of them. Also, he is Jeff’s boyfriend. Zari, are you sure you didn’t find anything else interesting on Jeff?”

She shook her head. “No, I checked twice.”

“Not even that he’s Gary’s dad?” John challenged.

“We have Time Dweeb’s dad?” Mick frowned. “Ugh,”

“Mr. Constantine is correct,” Gideon confirmed. “Jeff Green is indeed the father of Gary Green. An earlier check of Bureau records confirmed the birth certificate.”

“And you never told me?” Zari exclaimed. “Gideon, come on!”

“Well, you didn’t ask about his children.”

“We know now,” Sara ended the argument. “So Gary’s dad could be killed by a hellhound. Ava, you mentioned that he was picking up his dad from the airport. What else do you know about his family?”

“Ahhh,” Ava frowned. “His mom’s dead. He has a dad. That’s it.”

“Helpful,” Zari mumbled. “Well, I did find out that a street over from the plumber, a man named Puck Shakespeare is renting a house. While I have a difficult time believing that’s a real name, he’s our guy.”

“Could he have summoned the hellhound to go after Jeff?” Ray inquired, eyes moving to the feed of the brig.

“According to Jeff, they were talking about introducing Puck to his kids,” John said. “Things sound good between them. It doesn’t make sense that he’d summon a hellhound because he didn’t want to meet his boyfriend’s kids.”

“Well, we don’t have a trace of the hellhound,” Sara sighed. “Gideon, what’s the effect on the timeline if we don’t stop this?”

“Current projections place Gary Green as an FBI analyst in 2019 instead of joining the Time Bureau,” the AI answered. “Mr. Rory would die at the hands of Captain Lance while she was under the influence of the death totem. Director Sharpe goes missing and the Time Bureau is headed by Director Neil McNeil, who enacts a series of regulations limiting activity of the Legends and prevents you from completing several missions critical to protecting the timeline.”

Sara shook her head. “Things take a turn for the worse.”

“He’s the one who came up with the strategy to track the death totem,” John said. “And he came to you when Ava was missing. Gary’s got brothers too. Gideon, would this impact their timelines?”

“The art community never discovers Levi Green’s works, and a bestselling book is never written. A popular travel vlog, Adventure Man!, is also a victim.”

“That’s Nate’s favorite series!” Ray looked horrified. “No, he can’t lose Adventure Man!.”

“Okay, so we’re saving Jeff,” Sara decided. “Wherever Charlie ran off to, it better pay off in the end!”

“Oh, it will!” the shapeshifter announced as she made her entrance. “Lucky for you lot, I’ve been seeking out help, and I knew exactly who to look for. He’s helped me fill in all the gaps.”

A man entered the room after Charlie, raising a hand in greeting with a smile. Ava frowned, unsure of what his purpose was. John, on the other hand, was regarding the newcomer with open suspicion.

“Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to Puck,” Charlie said. “He’s a fairy from the High Court of King Oberon.”

Puck bowed with a cocky smirk, a shower of sparkles falling from his hands.

“Well, the name on the rental agreement makes sense now,” Zari sighed. “Took it right from Shakespeare.”

“Bold of you to assume I copied Billy,” Puck replied. “Without my help and influence, your world would never know of that night.”

“Puck’s an old friend of me before and during prison,” Charlie explained. “His cell was two down from mine. When the jail busted, he ended up here, met Jeff after a while, and started dating him.”

“Speaking of him,” Puck glared at the Legends. “Who’s going to tell me where my boyfriend is?”

“Not until we make sure it wasn’t you who sent the hellhound after him,” John responded, stepping forward.

“I swear by the High Court, by the King and Queen, that I would never do anything to harm a hair on Jeff’s head.”

“He’s right,” Charlie nodded. “He really wouldn’t. Puck likes mischief as much as the rest of his kind, but this isn’t his style. I should know, I was on the receiving end of it and it’s not hellhounds.”

Sara’s arms were folded over her chest, but she did relax somewhat. Ava knew it was a sign she didn’t totally trust Puck yet. “So do either of you know who it is?”

“We do,” Charlie confirmed. “I heard someone chanting when we were stalking the plumber. I didn’t recognize it at first, but then I remembered what it was. It’s Lilim, the language of the demons.”

“Once Charlie told me that was it, I figured out who it was,” Puck continued. “One of my exes was a demon who calls himself Michael. He was with me when we first came to Earth after the prison broke and wanted to get back together. But I refused to let myself fall into his darkness again and rejected him. He’s always been jealous, so it’s most likely he’s the one behind this as an attempt to get me back. Like killing the mortal man I love is going to send me running back into his arms!”

“A jealous demon,” Mick looked interested by that. “Can I kill him?”

“By all means, you may,” Puck nodded, “Make sure it sticks.”

“What about the hellhound?” Ava asked. “It’s still going after Jeff, right?”

“Fairy magic can fix that,” Puck promised. “Just get me close enough to Michael, and I can break the spell. But night is falling soon, which means the hound will return. Now that I’m here with Jeff, it’s likely that Michael will show up.”

Ava sighed. “So that means we’re getting ready for a fight?”

“Indeed,” Puck informed them. “But before we do this, may I please see my boyfriend!”

“John and I will take you,” Sara volunteered, grabbing John by the arm. “Babe, can you get everyone else ready?”

“Not a problem,” Ava looked behind her at the front windows of the ship. “Hey, Gideon, how resistant is the Waverider to hellhound attacks?”

“I don’t know, but I am not ready to find out today, Director Sharpe.”

~~~

John wasn’t sure why he and Sara were both supervising the reunion, but it was shorter than he had expected it to be.

“I was so worried when I got the voicemail,” Puck said to Jeff once the mushy stuff was out of the way. “I thought the hellhound got to you until Charlie showed up and told me I wasn’t too late.”

“Yeah, they rescued me,” Jeff told him. “But the hellhound’s still out there. It wants to hunt me down.”

“It is and it does,” Puck sighed and took Jeff’s hands. “It’s my fault, Jeff. The hellhound is after you because of me. I brought my world into yours, but I’m going to fix it all. I love you, okay?”

“I love you too.”

Puck smiled, but it barely masked the sadness on his face. “Stay here until I get back.”

With that, he left the cell and went out of the room. John and Sara followed after him.

“You really do care about him, don’t you?” John asked as they walked down the hall.

“I do,” Puck nodded. “Which makes what I’m about to do even harder.”

“We have a plan all worked out,” Sara said. “The hellhound will be here soon with your ex, and we’ll send them both back to hell.”

“She’s right, it’ll be a piece of cake with your magic.”

“Oh, I know,” Puck looked back at them. “But loving Jeff and letting him into my world, it’s too dangerous. He could have been killed by that hellhound. I can’t put him in danger anymore.”

John stopped. “Hang on, you’re not letting a jealous ex break up the two of you, are you?”

“It’s more than him,” Puck sighed. “This hellhound would never have gone after him if I hadn’t fallen in love. Jeff will get hurt because he loves me, but I can’t let that happen. It’ll be safer if I leave and take his memories of me away.”

“That would just hurt him more,” Sara said.

John nodded. “You’re going to leave him with a blank space in his memories if you do. Not to mention that you damn yourself to feel the pain of breaking your own heart while he never knows.”

“Listen, exorcist,” Puck snarled. “You and I both know there has to be a balance of the light and dark in the world. Jeff lives in the light. People like you, Charlie, and myself, we are the dark. When we love people who don’t walk our path, it darkens their brightness. Breaking the balance…it hurts them.”

           John opened his mouth to argue back, but he couldn’t find the words. Sara gave him a pointed look before leaving him alone with the fairy. The way Puck was speaking had been how John turned Gary away from him. He’d even used the bloody light and dark balance line. John knew he had broken Gary’s heart as well as his own, but he hadn’t wanted Gary Green to become another Desmond, another Gary Lester. But that had been before he traveled with the Legends, before he met Sara and Ava. John knew he hadn’t entirely changed, but some things had.

“Maybe it does sometimes,” he told Puck. “But it doesn’t always.”

The fairy rolled his eyes as if he was dealing with a child. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken,” John shot back. “Because I do. I know exactly what you think of yourself after what Jeff’s been through!”

“Oh, do you really?”

“Yes! I had someone I cared about too. He’s more like Jeff than you could ever imagine. He cared about me the same way Jeff does with you, but he had so much light that I couldn’t let myself tarnish that. So I broke his heart, gave him the same light and dark speech, and moved on right up until I met Sara and Ava, that other blonde on the bridge. Two different worlds, Sara came back from the dead, and she found she could be happy with Ava. Now I regret what I did because there is no way I can fix it! That’s what’s going to happen to you if you break Jeff’s heart!”

Puck glowered at him before walking away quickly.

“Do you really regret not taking the chance with Gary?”

John hadn’t realized that Sara had been waiting by the corner. “How’d you know it was Gary?”

“The light and dark speech. Gary told Nate, and he told the rest of us.”

“Blabbermouth,” John muttered. “I messed things up with Gary to the point where I can’t fix them. If Puck truly loves Jeff, they can work out. He just can’t see every terrible thing as a sign that it’s not meant to be.”

Sara smirked. “Look at you having hope for Gary’s dad.”

“Don’t ever tell him that.”

“Captain Lance,” Gideon said. “The hellhound is approaching our location, and it’s not alone.”

“Time to get ready for a fight,” the captain sighed. “John, get Puck and the others ready. I’ll be there in a moment.”

~~~

As the Legends and Puck exited the ship, the hellhound was sitting obediently beside a tall man in a blue suit. When he saw Puck, an icy smile crawled onto his face. “Hello, darling.”

“Michael,” Puck’s tone was venomous. “You should have never done this. We’re over. Move on. I have.”

“With a human,” the demon sneered. “Come on, Puck. Really?”

“And you think killing the man I love would make me go back to you?” Puck shook his head, magic swirling around his hands. “Think again. Now release the hound from its bond to kill.”

The smile grew wider as Michael giggled. “I’ll release it!”

            He said something in another language and the hellhound was on its feet. With a loud growl, it charged at the assembled group. Mick was the first to fire off his heat gun, eliciting a howl of pain when the flames met fur. It only slowed the creature down for a moment before it swiped at them with a large paw. The arsonist went flying into a tree as the hellhound turned to the next people in its path. When she realized it was them, Zari grabbed Charlie and flew into the air with her totem.

“Okay, you’ve had your fun!” Charlie yelled as Zari tried to avoid the lunging beast. “Cut it out! You’re not going to get what you want!”

“Oh, I’ll kill as many people as I have to in order to get him back,” Michael shouted back. “Starting with you lot!”

Ray and Ava made a move to go after him, but the hellhound cut them off. It was then that John realized Sara hadn’t rejoined them yet. He only had a second to process this before Puck suddenly tackled him to avoid being taken out by the Atom flying back from a blow.

“I need to get closer,” Puck said, getting back up on his feet. “Ugh, Michael had to get a big one. He’s really overcompensating.”

John made a face as he thought through the spells that he knew. Settling on one, he began to chant in Latin, trying to trap the beast in a sigil.

“You’re a clever one,” Michael sounded impressed. “But it’s not enough.”

Michael spoke something in Lilim, and the sigil dissolved. Another phrase in Lilim, this one sounding much like a command, made the beast turn to face John head on. Its eyes glowed like embers as it started running at him. John started to summon up another sigil.

A yell came from behind him. “Hey, pooch!”

The next thing John knew, a rod was being jammed into the hellhound’s eye. It screeched and backed away quickly, the rod swinging around haphazardly. John took the opportunity to run out of the way. Looking up, he saw Jeff standing there, hands shaking and eyes slightly widened. Sara was standing next to him, a proud look on her face.

Michael stared at his hellhound, then back up to Jeff. “The mortal.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Jeff shouted. “I am. Maybe it’s not a demon, or some other magical creature, but I still love him. And I’m pretty sure that he loves me!”

“I do!” Puck appeared from behind Michael. “And I’m not letting anyone take him away from me!”

           Michael spun around and Puck grabbing his chest. His hand started to glow as did the demon’s chest, the dark outlines of his ribs prominent. Puck pulled his hand back after a few moments. Michael sunk to his knees and the hound stopped flailing around. It started to whimper in pain now.

“It’s been freed from its task,” Puck announced as the Legends and Jeff moved forward. “Now it’s time for them to return to hell.”

“I’ve got that bit,” John looked down at the demon and started to summon the opening to hell.

Michael scowled up at Puck. “You’ve made a mistake. We’re immortals, he isn’t. You’re from two different worlds. It won’t be a happy ending.”

“So what if we’re not the same?” Jeff asked. “Everything that makes him different is part of why I love Puck. It doesn’t change how I feel about him.”

Puck reached over with a smile to take his hand. “Me neither.”

The portal to hell was wide open now. The hound was cast inside first, then John set his sights on Michael.

“I hope you get what’s coming from your pals down there,” he snarled.

With that, he kicked the demon through the portal and closed it.

“Is that it?” Sara asked as Zari finally made it back down to the ground with Charlie.

John nodded silently. Puck and Jeff turned to each other and started to kiss.

“Let’s get cleaned up and get him home,” Ava said. “Plus, I’m pretty sure Rory has a concussion over there.”

“Eh, he’s got a thick head,” Sara replied. “He’ll be fine.”

“Are we ever going to tell Gary about this?” Charlie inquired, pointing over to Jeff and Puck. “That his dads dated a fugitive and we saved him?”

Ava shook her head. “No. If he remembers this, then he’ll tell us. Right now we just need to get his dad home.”

“And what about Puck?”

Zari’s question had them all looking towards the couple again.

“He hasn’t done any harm,” John murmured. “Let them be happy for as long as they can.”

“For once, I agree with him,” Ava said. “They’re two people in love. They deserve a chance.”

~~~

“Thank you again for saving me. I owe my life to you.”

“It’s what we do,” Sara smiled at Jeff. “Just have a good life.”

“And look after your kids,” Ava added. “They’ve got a good dad.”

“They really do,” Puck agreed with her, kissing Jeff. “I can’t wait to meet them tomorrow. I’ll see you then, my love.”

With a puff of smoke, he vanished.

“Fairy magic,” John shook his head. He gave Jeff a pat on the shoulder. “Let’s get you home to your kids.”

           Together with Ray, they loaded into the car they were “borrowing”. The drive to the Green house was silent, save for Jeff pointing out where they’d need to turn. John did catch Ray looking over at him a few times, but he thankfully kept his mouth shut. He was glad for the silence right now.

Once they arrived at the Green home, John got out to take Jeff to the door. “Here you are. Home sweet home.”

“Yeah,” Jeff looked up at it happily. “I’m glad to be back here alive.”

“I’ll bet,” John agreed. “Listen, mate, I have two things I want to say.”

Jeff turned to him, waiting. John exhaled and glanced at the house quickly, wondering what little Gary Green was up to right now while little John Constantine was sleeping with his latest bruises.

“First, don’t give up with Puck. I saw tonight that you two really love each other. Two different worlds or not, you can find a way. Don’t make my mistakes.”

“I won’t. We won’t.”

“Good,” John nodded. “Second, I know you love your kids, and that you’re worried about Gary. You see that he’s going to be amazing, but he doesn’t know that, so tell him. Tell him everyday that he is incredible. Tell all your boys that, but make sure Gary knows it. Someone needs to.”

“I will,” Jeff smiled as he pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. “Thank you for everything. Goodbye, John.”

As soon as he pushed the door open, John could see a little boy with glasses sitting on the carpet at the end of the hall. He lifted his head from a book to see who it was. Then his face split into a grin and he ran over to attach himself to Jeff’s legs. “DADDY!”

“Gary!” Jeff dropped down so he could hug his son properly. “Hey, kiddo, I missed you so much!”

“Aunt Stacy didn’t say when you were coming back,” little Gary mumbled into Jeff’s neck. “Where were you?”

“I was with some friends. This is one of them. You’re going to meet another one tomorrow.”

“Cool!” Gary grinned up at John, revealing a missing tooth. “Nice to meet you.”

John couldn’t help but smile back. “You too.”

“Hey, where are your brothers and aunt?” Jeff asked, standing up now. “Are they already asleep?”

“Levi is. Aunt Stacy’s with JJ in the backyard. He climbed the tree and he isn’t wearing pants.”

“Well, we better go deal with that then,” Jeff chuckled. “How about you tell me about that book you were reading?”

John watched them go inside and close the door before heading back to the car.

~~~

“The timeline is back to the way it’s supposed to be,” Sara said once they were back in present day. “No massacre was ever reported in that town.”

“I was hoping serial killer when this first came up, but I’m glad it’s been fixed,” Ava murmured. “Gary’s still at the Bureau, so that’s good.”

“Oh yeah,” Sara’s eyes glinted with mischief. “I made a lie about something being broken and might have told John to check on Gary himself.”

“I suggested it,” Gideon reminded her.

Ava raised an eyebrow. “You’re playing matchmaker with them?”

Sara shrugged. “Maybe a little…”

~~~

John knocked for the third time on Gary’s apartment door. “Oh come on, squire. You better be in there.”

Just then, the door swung open, revealing Gary. “John? What are you doing here? Is something wrong?”

“You know me,” John sighed in relief as he came into the apartment. “You still work at the Bureau, right?”

“Yeah, I do, you know that. I took the day off today, I had to pick up my dad at the airport, although he did have a surprise there.”

John froze. “What kind of surprise?”

“Gary? Who are you talking to?”

“Who’s there?”

           John remembered those voices. It had been hours for him, but decades for them. Lifting his head, he could see Puck and Jeff coming around the corner from where Gary’s kitchen was. Jeff’s hair had gone gray and there were more wrinkles now, but he had aged gracefully. Puck looked older too, which should have been impossible for fairies, but his aging looked slower compared to Jeff’s. John couldn’t help but smile when he saw their joined hands.

“Hey,” Gary looked back to his father and Puck, then John. “Uh, John, this is my dad. And that’s Puck. He’s my dad’s boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend?” John raised an eyebrow.

“We were together for a long time, but then we had a bit of a break,” Jeff explained. “Puck helped me raise Gary and his brothers.”

“But now we’re trying things together again,” Puck finished, smiling lovingly at Jeff. “So, Gary, who is this?”

John glanced quickly at Gary, who cleared his throat. “This is John Constantine. He’s a friend from work.”

Jeff tilted his head. “Do I know you?”

“Just got one of those faces,” John lied.

“I don’t think you’d know him,” Gary told his father. “John’s kinda into the occult.”

Jeff grinned. “Hey, I was in a cult once!”

“Occult, and he doesn’t need to hear that story!” Gary panicked, waving his hands back and forth.

“Hey, Gary, can you give me a hand in the kitchen?” Puck interrupted. “I need to get the rest of the sauce together so it can simmer.”

“Sure, Puck.”

John watched them leave before turning back to Jeff. The older man had a knowing smile on his face.

“It’s been a while, John Constantine. So, are you a petty dabbler or master of the dark arts today?”

“You…” he faltered. “You remember me?”

“Hard to forget an introduction like that after nearly getting mauled by a hellhound,” Jeff laughed. “You and everyone on that ship did so much for me and Puck back then. Not only did you stop a hellhound, but you told us it was possible to be together.”

John glanced towards the kitchen where Gary and Puck were. “Thought you two said you had a break.”

“We did, but it didn’t mean Puck wasn’t part of the family. Besides, we’re giving things a second chance and it’s been amazing.”

“Well, that’s good to hear.”

“Puck told me everything you told him all that time long ago,” Jeff continued. “Including how you let someone go because of your darkness. And then there was the advice you gave me about Gary. Since you told me you were a time traveler, I wondered if you knew him. But Gary was the one you let go, wasn’t he?”

John exhaled heavily. “He was.”

“Do you still really care about my son, John Constantine?” Jeff asked, his eyes steely behind the glasses he now wore.

The question hung in the air before John nodded. “I do.”

“Good,” Jeff smiled. “Because he still likes you too. If you want something with him…well, I think you remember the advice you gave to me.”

John snorted softly. “Time will tell if it works again.”

“So, do it, then wait and see. That’s what Puck and I had to do.”

“Jeff, where did you-” Puck started to shout. “Never mind. Can you give me a hand?”

“I’ll be there in a moment,” Jeff called back, then looked to John. “Good luck. And if you ever break his heart again, Puck will come after you. You’ll get to see the kind of revenge he can dish out then.”

“Not meddling with a fairy,” John promised. “Speaking of which, do Gary and his brothers know about Puck? What he really is?”

“They do, but the secret is safe within the family and it will stay with family.”

Gary came back around the corner. “Hey, Dad, JJ’s calling. Levi’s with him.”

“I’ll get it,” Jeff told his son. “You talk with John for now.”

“Sure,” Gary grinned until his father left the room, then looked back to John. “Hey, he didn’t tell you the cult story, did he?”

John laughed. “Nope. No cult story, but now I’m curious.”

Gary reddened and scratched the back of his neck. “I can…tell you tonight? Puck’s suggesting that I invite you over for dinner tonight. It’ll be them and my brothers here. It’s okay to say no though. My family can be a lot and-”

“No,” John shook his head. “I’d like to stay.”

Gary seemed surprised. “Wha- really?”

“Yeah,” he smiled. “There’s something I want to talk to you about, if you’ll hear me out.”

Gary beamed back at him. “Sure.”